The head of Local Government New Zealand has rejected an accusation by Finance Minister Bill English that councils' lack of effort on housing causes poverty.
At yesterday's release of the Government's books for the last financial year, English said inequality would have decreased if not for councils' poor planning.
He said the cost and complexity of getting permission to build a house is the biggest single contributor, Radio New Zealand reported.
“The growth in housing costs over time, to the point where you're seeing families spending 50 or 60 percent of their income on housing - that's pretty devastating at the low end.
“So councils need to understand that when they run these policies that restrict the availability of land and the opportunity for lower value housing they are causing poverty."
Local Government New Zealand president Lawrence Yule said English was drawing a “very long bow” in saying local government was responsible for poverty.
“I think he has a point in parts of New Zealand ... there are some land supply and housing issues particularly in Auckland, and in Christchurch because of the earthquake, but they're not universal.
Housing was not the sole driver of poverty, Yule told Morning Report. “In many parts of New Zealand you'll go and you'll find empty shops everywhere, you'll find houses you can buy for under $100,000.”