The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the National Party’s housing policy to force councils to reduce the regulatory constraints on land supply, but has concerns about the blank cheque approach to giving councils even more money.

For the first time, all 18 prisons in New Zealand will be invited to participate in an inter-prison kapa haka competition, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis announced today.

National has designed a streamlined mechanism for allocating the Government’s $3.8 billion fund for housing infrastructure, National’s Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Bayly says.

National’s proposed law change will get more houses built, faster, Housing spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed the National Party’s announcement of its housing policy and legislation.

"Housing affordability is all about supply. This legislation will make it easier to build a house so we support this bill," Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich says.

Judith Collins’ Member’s Bill will put in place emergency powers similar to those used to speed up house building in Canterbury following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes

"It’s disheartening to see the Government changing the law in response to the March 15 murders in a way the Justice Minister readily admits wouldn’t have prevented the events of March 15," says ACT Leader David Seymour.

At their Strategy and Policy meeting today, Horizons Regional Council made their decision on changes to the One Plan. This decision was then adopted at the Regional Council meeting that followed shortly after.

The Government has introduced the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill, designed to boost our ability to respond to a wider range of terrorist activities.

- Coal boiler replacements at a further ten schools, saving an estimated 7,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 10 years

- Fossil fuel boiler replacements at Southern Institute of Technology and Taranaki DHB, saving nearly 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 10 years