High-growth councils have until 31 March to submit final proposals for a share of the $1 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund, Infrastructure Minister Steven Joyce and Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith say.

“Council constraints in financing the necessary infrastructure - the water supply, storm water, waste water and roading - can slow down the opening up of new housing areas, which is why the Government announced the Housing Infrastructure Fund last year,” Dr Smith says.

Unreinforced masonry facades and parapets posing a risk to the public in areas like Wellington with a heightened risk of an aftershock from the Kaikoura earthquake need to be secured within a year, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith has announced.

The number of new homes consented in Auckland for the year to November has topped 10,000 for the first time in 12 years, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“The 1156 consents issued in Auckland during November makes it the strongest month in more than 10 years. It is more than treble the 325 consents issued in Auckland in November 2008, when National became Government. We need to consistently achieve more than 1000 consents per month in Auckland to match population growth,” Dr Smith says.

Labour Leader Andrew Little's idea for a law change to give Solid Energy a legal exemption to any liabilities that might arise out of a re-entry to the mine is hypocritical and unsafe, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith said today.

Twenty temporary housing units at the Rawhiti Domain used to support families through the Christchurch earthquakes are to be offered to farmers with significantly damaged homes from the Kaikōura earthquake, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

The Government is proposing to ban personal care products containing plastic microbeads, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“We are proposing a ban on the sale and manufacture of personal care products in New Zealand containing microbeads because of the long-term risk they pose to our aquatic and marine environments,” Dr Smith said.

The Hamilton City Council is to gain access to fast-track powers to zone new areas for residential development under an Accord with the Government, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today during a visit with new Mayor Andrew King.

The Government is proposing reforms to better protect people buying and owning property under the Unit Titles Act, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“We need better property laws to support the change in our cities, where more people are living and investing in townhouses and apartments. The number of households in unit titles is already 145,000, with a value of more than $50 billion. This number is expected to double by 2040.

New Zealand is into its fifth straight year of strong growth in construction, with more than 30,000 homes consented in the year to October and record levels of commercial and infrastructure investment, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

Legislation changing the designation of part of Auckland’s Point England Reserve so houses can be built has passed its first reading in Parliament, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

The Point England Development Enabling Bill allows for housing development on 11.7 hectares of the 48 hectare Point England Reserve in Tāmaki, east Auckland. Ngāti Paoa will have the right to develop the land for housing, in conjunction with the Tamaki Redevelopment Company.

Formal proposals are being requested from three responders to carry out New Zealand’s largest housing redevelopment project, Ministers Bill English and Dr Nick Smith say.

Ngāti Paoa Consortium, Tūhono Tāmaki Consortium and Exemplar Communities Consortium have been invited to submit proposals for the first phase of the Tāmaki Regeneration project, redeveloping around 1,000 existing social houses into 2,500 social, affordable and market houses. 

The release of a proposed new spatial plan for the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park has been welcomed by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry.

The Sea Change/Tai Timu Tai Pari marine spatial plan, designed to secure a healthy, productive and sustainable future for the Hauraki Gulf, is the result of three years’ work by the Sea Change group, representing mana whenua, councils, local conservationists, businesses, recreational fishers and the Government.

A new 300-home development on part of the Point England Reserve has been announced today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith, with the Tamaki Redevelopment Company and Ngāti Paoa.

“The greatest constraint to resolving Auckland’s housing challenges is finding suitable land, particularly in close proximity to the central city. The Point England Reserve has been poorly used for decades, with 18 hectares of it used for grazing cows.

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today visited Kaikoura with local MP Stuart Smith to assess the environmental, building and housing impacts of the quake, during which he announced $500,000 for a Temporary Accommodation Service for displaced people.

Land suitable for 60 apartments on the Te Atatu Peninsula is the latest addition to the Crown Land Programme, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has signed an agreement to acquire the 0.53 hectare site in Titoki Street from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for the programme. NZTA originally acquired the site on behalf of the Crown to enable the upgrade of the neighbourhood Te Atatu Interchange on the north-western motorway, and this project has now been completed,” Dr Smith says.

Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith leaves today for Sydney to attend the annual meeting of Australasian Environment Ministers, with Ministers from each State, Territory and New Zealand.

“This is the first opportunity to engage with new Australia Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg since the July Federal election. The New Zealand and Australian economies are so integrated that we need to maximise the alignment of our environmental regulation,” Dr Smith says.

Changes to the National Environmental Standard (NES) for Telecommunications Facilities will make it quicker and easier for New Zealanders to get connected to new and better communications technologies.

Communications Minister Amy Adams and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced the new NES for Telecommunications Facilities, under the Resource Management Act (RMA).

Advice to the building industry on restraining ceilings, ducting and other non-structural elements will improve the safety and resilience of commercial buildings during earthquakes, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) today released two practice advisories to the building sector on non-structural elements and secondary structural elements in commercial buildings.

Sharp Corporation’s efforts to responsibly manage the environmental effects of its products have been recognised with accreditation to the Product Stewardship Scheme, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“Sharp aims to be recycling 100 per cent of all packaging materials, electrical and electronic products and equipment, and obsolete and used parts by April 2018,” Dr Smith says.

A new social housing complex of 120 apartments is to be built on surplus Crown land and an adjoining Housing New Zealand site in Auckland in partnership with local iwi, Ministers Paula Bennett and Nick Smith have announced.

Housing New Zealand (HNZ) and development partners Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Gemscott Resources Limited have signed a heads of agreement to develop the 12,010sq m site on Great North Rd in Waterview into one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. All the homes will be retained by HNZ for social housing.

A technical investigation into the performance of buildings such as Statistics House at CentrePort will be undertaken to help inform improved building regulation, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“This week’s significant earthquakes have tested the seismic strength of many of Wellington’s multi-storey buildings. This investigation will focus on Statistics House to understand its performance and where there may be wider lessons for improved design,” Dr Smith says.

The families of the Pike River victims and Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith met in Greymouth tonight to discuss work on decommissioning the mine and progressing the memorial track through Paparoa National Park.

“This is an emotional time for families, given Saturday’s sixth anniversary of the tragedy which claimed the lives of 29 men. That’s why Solid Energy agreed to defer work on decommissioning the mine this week,” Dr Smith says.

Work on decommissioning the Pike River Mine will be deferred this week in the run up to the sixth anniversary of the disaster, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith said today.