Nick Smith's Fiasco Goes to Court

new-zealand-labour-party

Sat Jun 27 2015 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Nick Smith's Fiasco Goes to Court

Saturday, 27 June 2015, 10:11 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Nick Smith's Fiasco Goes to Court

The Government's ham-fisted handling of its Budget housing initiative made it inevitable the policy would end up in court, says Labour's housing spokesperson Phil Twyford.

Ngati Whatua filed papers in the Auckland District Court today seeking a ruling on the Government's attempt to bypass its Right of First Refusal on the disposal of government land.

"Nick Smith has made a hash of this policy from start to finish. The moment he announced his tricky plan to by-pass iwis' Right of First Refusal this was always going to end in court.

"The Minister's incompetent management of his portfolio has put in jeopardy thousands of homes that Aucklanders desperately need. If Nick Smith had done his homework and consulted iwi first, instead of insulting them by trying to circumvent their legal rights, he could have avoided this fiasco.

"First Nick Smith's policy was accidentally leaked before the Budget. Then it turned out he was planning to build on cemeteries and substations. Then 10 days after promising 500 ha he could only show journalists 30 ha and one confirmed site on his magical bus tour. Then it turned out one of the sites he was touting wasn't even owned by the Government. And after claiming that iwi had no Right of First Refusal it turned out one of the properties had already been pre-notified to Ngati Whatua under its Right of First Refusal.

"It has been a complete shambles."

ENDS

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