Making the problem go away

New Zealand has a housing crisis, which is beginning to cause significant flow-on effects for the real economy. So what is the government doign about it? Abolishing the role of Housing Minister.

You might think that removing the person whose job it is to oversee policy would mean that there is no longer any policy. And you'd be right. You might also think that that would make the crisis worse. You'd be right there too. But there's a positive benefit: with no Housing Minister, the government can't be asked questions about the housing crisis in Parliament. Abolishing the title literally makes the problem go away, at least as far as the government is concerned.

As for actual people, they'll still be struggling to pay unaffordable housing costs thanks to a speculator-driven boom funded by dirty foreign money, while the market refuses to build the affordable houses they need because there's more money in palazzos. But since when has National ever cared about them?