1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: Hey, good afternoon. Welcome to the program. So today we're 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: going to talk to developer David Whitburn about Chris Bishop's 3 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,239 Speaker 1: plan to flood cities with housing. Henry Ulster Olson, who's 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: an American Polster, is going to give us the latest 5 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: on Biden and I'll tell you what. There's quite a 6 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: lot to get you across in the last twenty four hours. 7 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: And Consumer New Zealand wants a full ban on sun 8 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: beds good heather due to see Ellen. So it looks 9 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:22,920 Speaker 1: like we are going to finally give in and allow 10 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,639 Speaker 1: shoebox apartments in New Zealand. This is part of Chris 11 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: Bishop's plan to flood the country with houses. This morning 12 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: he announced a whole raft of changes that are designed 13 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: to make houses more affordable. And one of those changes 14 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: is that he's going to remove any requirements for how 15 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: big an apartment must be and also how big the 16 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: balcony of that apartment must be. He reckons that back 17 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: in around about twenty fifteen or thereabouts, when Auckland Council 18 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: changed the balcony sized restrictions, it pushed the price of 19 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: apartments in the city up by forty to seventy thousand 20 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: dollars each. There's a lot of money. That is a 21 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: lot of money to pay just so you've got a 22 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: little bit extra space on the old balcony. So I think, 23 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:00,279 Speaker 1: actually it's a good call from him. It's about time 24 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: that we got on board with this. The very, very 25 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,600 Speaker 1: first property that I ever put to my name was 26 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: a tiny, tiny apartment. The bedrooms were so small in 27 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: the apartment. You could fit in just you could just 28 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: put in a double bed and there was just enough 29 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: space around the double bed for you to be able 30 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: to walk around, but your one shoulder would be touching 31 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,720 Speaker 1: the wall. That's how cramped it was. I didn't have 32 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 1: space for a dining table, so I took a bed 33 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: out of a bedroom, put the dining table in there, 34 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: and you could just get just get the chairs out 35 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: from under the dining table without them heading the walls. 36 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: It was that tiny, but it was what I wanted, 37 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: which was a place that I could afford to buy 38 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: in the middle of the city. And by the end, 39 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: I have to be honest, by the end of living there, 40 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,919 Speaker 1: I was embarrassed by how tiny it was, and mainly 41 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: because somebody had come around and they were drunk and 42 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: they said, you shouldn't be living in a place this small, 43 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: and it kind of pointed out to me how small 44 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: it wasn't After that, I just couldn't get over it. 45 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: So when I could afford to, I just sold it 46 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: and moved on to another place. But at the time 47 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 1: that I bought it, it was perfect, and frankly I 48 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: couldn't afford much more, and it got me onto the 49 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: property ladder. Now, shoebox apartments I give you are not ideal, okay, 50 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: But then renting because you cannot afford to buy, that's 51 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: even less ideal than living in a shoebox apartment. Yes, 52 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: there will be developers who will take the mickey with 53 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: how small they go. Yes, these kinds of apartments are 54 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: often an I saw to everyone else who has to 55 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: look at the bloody thing. But frankly, our priority has 56 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: got to be something else now right. It has got 57 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 1: to be getting people into their own homes, however small 58 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: those homes are. We have got to accept that we've 59 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,959 Speaker 1: got a housing crisis. We have got to accept it's 60 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: not good for younger generations to feel like they're locked 61 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: out of home ownership and not be able to see 62 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: a future for them to be able to buy their 63 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: own homes and if they want to live in a 64 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: small space because it's all they can afford, why would 65 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: we prevent that? For more from Hither Duplicy Alan Drive, 66 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: listen live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, 67 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,200 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.