Willis NicolaNICOLA WILLIS (National): I stand today in proud support of the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. This bill is a win-win. It enhances the rights of property owners today and it will in time enhance the choices and options available to those currently locked out of property ownership in this country. It is a bill that is the product of an unusual bipartisan process in which we in the National Party have constructively engaged with members opposite to develop what we think is a pragmatic piece of legislation built on important principles. I want to acknowledge National Party leader Judith Collins who in January kicked off this process by writing to Prime Minister Ardern acknowledging the sheer emergency we face in this country around housing. Judith Collins put to the Prime Minister that we will not make sufficient progress in addressing that emergency unless we amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) which so badly constrains development.In late June Ministers Woods and Parker wrote back to the National Party and took us up on the opportunity to work constructively together on amendments to get rid of some of those barriers and here we are today. I want to thank Ministers for their bipartisan approach and I want to thank the officials and all of those who worked in a way that I believe will help the New Zealanders we are here to serve. I acknowledge fully those who say Well Nicola you didn't come to Parliament to work with Minister Woods." And I would say "Well actually I came to Parliament to serve not only New Zealanders voting today but those who will be here for future generations." It is incumbent upon all of us in this House to work together constructively where we can.The important principles in this bill—the first is: it cuts red tape. It comes from the perspective that Government regulation at all levels can prevent good outcomes. Whether it's well intended or not it can create consequences which run contrary to policy goals. So this bill removes some of the resource consenting processes that currently add cost time and complexity for those wishing to add more dwellings more homes to their sections. It removes Government regulation.The second principle that brings National to support this bill is that it clarifies and enhances property rights by creating a default right to build. It takes power away from town planners and gives it back to the people they serve by clarifying the circumstances in which they can add homes to their own land. And thirdly at a principled level this bill will create more competitive markets in which supply of housing is better able to respond to the demand for where that housing should be that is: it will allow cities to grow and have more housing where people want to live.So having established those principles I turn to the mechanisms in the bill that will deliver upon them. The first is that I acknowledge that it's hitched to the RMA wagon and the RMA is not a piece of legislation that we on this side of the House love but we acknowledge that the replacement process for it is long and in the meantime we must act. So this is a pragmatic response to that.It first strengthens and speeds up the National Policy Statement for Urban Development which already allows for some intensification in our cities. I want to acknowledge the National forefathers who first promulgated a national policy statement for urban development capacity and which this builds upon. It brings forward the good things in that policy statement and then it creates a new medium-density residential zone. Now I call these zones "the right to build zones". These are the places where everyday New Zealanders can expect that where it makes sense to do so they can build granny flats they can build apartments they can build townhouses. It then allows for rezoning of land for greenfields development. It does that by allowing councils to adopt and incorporate private plan changes within their intensification plans and to progress them through a fast-track process. That fast-track process is incredibly important because right now even if councils want to zone more space for development—and there are councillors and councils out there who want to do that—they say to me "I am stopped by the delays caused by the appeal process and the planning process which the Resource Management Act requires of me." This bill creates a mechanism to fast track through all of that. Finally the bill clarifies in the national policy statement for urban development the requirements on councils in order to make changes. In simple words: it makes it easier for councils to do that.So I want to acknowledge those stakeholders in the community who have reacted so positively to these proposals. I quote Oliver Hartwich from The New Zealand Initiative who said: "This is great news for landowners. Rather than having to spend time and money navigating regulatory hurdles they can focus on developing their property. It is equally great news for anyone wishing to buy or rent a home with fewer planning restrictions. More houses will be built." That is the critical thing here: by enabling these changes we will allow more homes of a variety of types to be built in the places where people wish to live.Now I acknowledge the concerns that have been whipped up by some and I want to address those. First of all there will be design standards. Nothing in this bill changes anything in the Building Act. These homes will be required to be of the same quality currently required. Second there are sensible development requirements in this bill and for those who are ignorant of that I encourage you to look at Part 2 which sets out in quite clear detail the parameters in which new development can occur including things like having a 50 percent site coverage maximum. Third this bill does set out qualifying matters which councils will be able to demonstrate in order to exempt some areas from development whether for environmental or heritage reasons. The difference is: whereas at the moment councils have carte blanche to do that—just about—this bill will require them to prove why that is necessary and to set that out. The burden of proof has switched.To those who have said "Yes housing is a crisis in this country. Yes it saps the economic productivity of our country. It saps the hope of a generation of New Zealanders. It leads to a distorted market and yes we need a circuit breaker" but who have somehow found other reasons to oppose concrete progress let me address those arguments. One of those arguments is that we already have enough zoned land. Now if you'll forgive me I'll give you an analogy because at its simplest I would say "More competition leads to more choice" and it is the same for land; the more land available for development the better choices people can make about where development should occur. But I would give you an analogy of our education system where it would be perfectly reasonable for the Minister of Education to say "There's already enough room in our schools. There's already enough ability to build more classrooms and provide more spaces for pupils." I would say to the Minister of Education: "That doesn't mean you should rob people of choice." The market should be able to respond where people want to have their kids educated and the housing market should be able to respond to where people wish to build homes. Where we can remove Government regulation we can. To those who are concerned about infrastructure: I would put to you that a core responsibility of local government is to fund the pipes to fund the footpaths and to ensure for the growth in our cities that is necessary to them being flourishing processes.I welcome the select committee process. I think it is very important that contributors from local authorities existing homeowners and existing interest groups have their say on this legislation. I also acknowledge as the Minister did prior to me that this is not a silver bullet. There is so much more work to do to enable more greenfields development to encourage more investment in housing and to ensure that more people get that first rung on the property ownership ladder within sight. But this is a great step forward. We must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good and I am pleased to support this bill."