1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: Now the Auckland housing number, the government's housing vision now 2 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:05,400 Speaker 1: looks like a school project basically gone wrong. Chris Bishop, 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,879 Speaker 1: by anyone's standards, a competent, if not excellent, political operator, 4 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:11,239 Speaker 1: appears to have come unstuck on Auckland housing. As two 5 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: million homes got the sort of reaction anyone with anything 6 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 1: to do with Auckland might have expected. So after a 7 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: lot of gnashing and expletives, that got readjusted to one 8 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: point six, and now, if you can believe it, it's 9 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: down to one point four. The real issue, of course, 10 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: is the number, and all numbers are huge, so they 11 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: freak people out. Not helping is the fact Bishop is 12 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: not from Auckland. He's from the Hut, which doesn't mean 13 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: he can't make decisions on Auckland. It just means he 14 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: doesn't seem to know what roch Rex Auckland is up, 15 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: and the obvious suggestion has made that maybe that's because 16 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: he's from Wellington. Making it worse is the government has 17 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: a Minister for Auckland, but he seems to be nowhere 18 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: to be seen, and one wonders whether he was in 19 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: Bishop's here at any point, suggesting bandying around large numbers 20 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: and causing confusion about high rises in suburbia. Wasn't the 21 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: smartest thing he could have done. Not helpful either for 22 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: the government given its election year, of course, like it 23 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: or not, election to one and lost in the country's 24 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: biggest city and economic engine room. Also about to Land 25 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: is a report on volcanic view shafts, another of Auckland's 26 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: special features. Bishop doesn't seem to get. We can delve 27 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: into it another day, But in assigned Bishop is all 28 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: about bottom lines and not the real world. The report 29 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: suggests there is four billion dollars worth of lost productivity 30 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: because of these view shafts, which averages out to two 31 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: and a half thousand dollars a house. The inference being 32 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 1: if we just got on and built stuff, even if 33 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: they are high rises smack bang in the middle of 34 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: Urrangatoto View, we would be off to the races economically. 35 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: I can tell Chris even before the report is released 36 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,759 Speaker 1: this will go down worse than the original two million 37 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,640 Speaker 1: homes idea. In really simple terms, if the National Party 38 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: and buy Default the government want to piss a large 39 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,279 Speaker 1: number of Aucklanders off, let Bishop loose on the place 40 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: and we'll catch up for a drink at the opposition benches. 41 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: For more from the mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 42 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 43 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:00,640 Speaker 1: the podcast on heart radio.