David Meades Opinion: Invercargill Needs A Builder On Council
Here’s a quiz. What is Invercargill? A city. What is a city made of? Buildings. Who builds buildings? Builders. Easy, right?
Invercargill is a city made of buildings built by builders.
But Invercargill doesn’t have enough buildings.
A 2021 report showed just how dire our housing crisis is. Invercargill was 800 houses short in 2021, estimated to be 1700 by 2025. Emergency housing demand went up 242% from 2018 to 2021. supply decreased 4%. Rent increased 50%.
Our housing supply already isn’t enough for our population, yet we desperately need our population to grow.
We already have a negative employment rate: there’s more job openings than job seekers, yet nearly 2500 jobs are coming to Invercargill in the next 5 years. A data centre, hydrogen plant, the Awarua development, salmon farms, an oat milk factory, potential electricity production are all on the horizon, but we don’t have enough people to do the work.
Basic arithmetic would tell you that more houses equals more rates, so if you want cheaper rates you need to incentivize development and bring new people to our city. The average ratepayer gives more than they take, so it would mean a net gain in budget for improving services and commodities, so it’s a no brainer to make building and developing cheaper and easier.
Unfortunately, our council lacks insight and experience when it comes to building and developing. Our zoning is out of date, skyrocketing land prices. Rules and regulations are unworkable, and there’s a lack of experience amongst staff.
I once had an inspector photograph a joist hanger, so they could remember what it was. A staffer recently informed council that it costs $10,000 per square metre to build a house.
These are just a couple examples of how out of touch the council is with the building industry. Our affordable housing is a huge drawcard to the city, so we need to make sure it stays that way.
I’ve done enough subdivisions, renovations, and new builds to know how to keep our city growing.
Ask yourself if any other candidate can say the same.
Published by arrangement.