Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Deregulating the construction industry will need to be handled carefully to prevent long-term problems like the leaky homes debacle, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.
In speech notes reported by the Herald, Housing Minister Chris Bishop is expected to say he supported the scrapping of apartment size limits which could lead to shoe box style housing.
Changes to housing policy - due to be announced on Thursday - will abolish powers that let councils mandate balconies or minimum floor area sizes for developments.
This means the market, and not councils, will set the minimum size of new apartments.
Hipkins said the government would need to be careful around deregulating the building and construction industry so there was no repeat of the "leaky homes-like scenario".
"So we've got to be sensible in what we're doing."
The country would also need to have the infrastructure to cope with more higher density living.
"Because if you end up with a big increase in small apartments that's still going to be drawing from the same water supply, feeding into the same sewerage supply and so on. We've got to make sure the infrastructure can cope with that."
There was room for more higher density housing, however, it all depended on the way it was done.
"I'm not sure reducing the size of each individual apartment is the answer. Building more apartments is absolutely one of the answers."
Tough crime policies that work
Hipkins was speaking to RNZ from Auckland where the party is trying to get more feedback on why it fared so badly at the last election.
During its term Labour abandoned its target of a reduced prison population, however, it had also ditched the Three Strikes law.
Asked if Labour got it wrong on crime and now supported the current government's tougher approach, Hipkins said he was hearing a lot of tougher talk but in his view, local and international evidence showed that locking people up for longer did not work.
He wanted more focus on the reasons people committed crimes.
Examples included the most persistent youth offenders who have often come to the attention of Oranga Tamariki before they committed crimes.
"If we did a better job of dealing with that in the first place - and this government is cutting funding for Oranga Tamariki - but if we did a better job of intervening when these kids first come to our attention then we might not have so many [offenders]."
He believed Aucklanders wanted a tougher approach that was effective and objected to young offenders getting away with no consequences.
After being apprehended they were soon back on the streets to commit more crimes.
"They want to know there are consequences that work and I think that's where our focus needs to be," Hipkins said.
Govt accused of lying over Labour's economic record
The government has fired plenty of barbs at the last government over its economic approach and the creation of debt.
Hipkins said the government was lying. While Labour had been accused of borrowing too much Finance Minister Nicola Willis was borrowing even more.
"That line falls flat. If government running at a deficit was a problem Nicola Willis running an even bigger deficit makes that argument fall flat as well."
Hipkins said during his time in government the country had to be supported through some "extraordinary times" including the pandemic and a series of natural disasters.
So far Wairoa which suffered another devastating flood last week had had very little from the government.
"There is a consequence for the fiscal austerity that this government is imposing on the country."
