Auckland mayoral candidate Phil Goff is eyeing the Remuera Golf Course as a possible site for thousands of new houses.
He wants the sale of the Auckland Council-owned land to be discussed, and he doesn't care that the Prime Minister plays there.
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Developers say the land could be used for up to 8000 houses and apartments if the entire 200ha-plus area was made available, easing the city's chronic shortfall of about 30,000 homes, the Herald reported last year.
The golf course is public land, but not public space. Instead, the rich have exclusive use of it, for which they pay a peppercorn rent and are effectively subsidised $16.5 million a year. A combination of low-income housing and public parks would be a far better use for that land. Alternatively, if the uber-rich want to continue to keep it for themselves, they should be made to purchase it.