The usual story

National is finally promising to tackle the housing crisis by building some houses, with plans to "build 34,000 new Auckland houses". Except that when you scratch the surface, its not all its cracked up to be. Firstly, those houses are being built by demolishing 8,300 existing homes, so the total is only 26,000. Secondly, it includes already announced and underway (and in some cases, built) projects in Tamaki, Northcote and Point England - so they're back to re-announcing old news to get a new headline. Thirdly, two thirds of those houses will be sold to speculators rather than being state houses - so we're looking at a program to bulldoze and sell off state homes. And finally, its over ten years, with a deadline on the never-never so National can avoid accountability - just as with their climate change, renewable electricity, and water quality promises. In short, its the usual story: PR as a substitute for policy, spin as a substitute for action. Because the goal isn't to fix the bloody problem, but simply to generate positive headlines.

And all of that said: every little bit helps, even National's pathetic spin-based half-measures. And by announcing this and conceding the principle that the government must build houses, they've enabled other parties to announce that they will build more of them, and keep them under state ownership. So its not a bad announcement - just too little, and too bloody late.