Christopher Luxon Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The ACT Party has applauded National for signalling a backdown over its support for denser house zoning.
ACT has always opposed the new density standards, which made it easier to build up to three homes of up to three storeys across New Zealand's cities.
The Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) were announced and passed with National's backing in 2021, intended to provide more housing without resorting to urban sprawl.
But National leader Christopher Luxon now says his party got it wrong.
He reportedly announced the rethink during a public meeting with voters in the North Shore suburb of Birkenhead on Wednesday.
"I think we've got the MDRS wrong," Luxon said, the New Zealand Herald reported on Wednesday evening. He told the paper after the meeting he preferred greenfields developments - building on land that was previously undeveloped.
He then told RNZ he also wanted densification around transport corridors, but with councils having more discretion for the rest of their cities.
"We've always said, look, we'd make sensible changes to it. It's pretty clear from the feedback from the community that there are changes to be made."
Luxon had only been National Party leader for a couple of weeks when the changes were passed. Deputy leader Nicola Willis was one of its sponsors. ACT was the only party to vote against it.
ACT leader David Seymour said it was about time.
"We're pleased to see the National Party finally recognising their mistake, but if it wasn't for ACT there would be no consistency on policy rigour on the right, and so we can only hope that their backdown will be fulsome and correct."
David Seymour. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
ACT instead wanted housing standards that allowed "more intensification, but with design standards that are sympathetic to existing neighbourhoods and property owners".
The MDRS allowed construction on properties up to three storeys tall to go ahead without resource consent on most urban sites in New Zealand's major cities, and brought forward the timeline on a ban on council limits lower than six storeys in some areas.
Luxon told the Herald he and the party's housing spokesperson Chris Bishop would have more to say in the next few weeks. In April, Bishop told 1News the party was open to "sensible changes" after seeing what effects the bill had during its "bedding in" phase.