Labour’s maths fail

The Herald reports:

A $23 million annual increase in development contributions collected by councils means the Government’s reforms have failed, an opposition MP claims.

Phil Twyford, Labour’s housing spokesman, said councils got an extra $23 million, or 9 per cent more, from developers in the last year.

It all depend son if the number of buildings consented increased by more or less than 9%.

It’s idiotic to say that a policy is a failure based on whether total revenue to Councils increased or decreased. What is important is the amount per property.

The Government had put in place initiatives to constrain building materials costs, rein in development contributions, cut compliance costs and invest in improved sector productivity, Smith said after Statistics NZ data showed 27,745 residential consents were issued in the year to February, up from 24,766 the previous year.

That’s a 12% increase in consents and a 9% increase in development contributions which means the level of average contribution has decreased. Thanks to Phil Twyford for highlighting this.