Tuia Pito Ora’s Environmental Legislation Committee working group has prepared, and the Board has endorsed, a submission on the Coalition Government’s Going for Housing Growth proposals.  The proposed changes are a joint initiative by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Ministry for the Environment, under Package 4 (Pillar 1) of a wider national direction resource management reform package.  The changes seek to provide for the freeing up of land for urban development, including removing unnecessary planning barriers.

Our submission recognises the pressing challenges around housing supply, affordability, and land prices across Aotearoa New Zealand. We support the intent to increase housing capacity, but have stressed that this must be achieved in ways that are sustainable, well-planned, and responsive to the character and limits of local environments.

A key message from our submission is that housing growth cannot simply be “more” – it must also be well-located, well-designed, and well-sequenced. We have highlighted spatial planning as the critical tool to guide growth, ensuring development occurs in areas that can absorb change without compromising sense of place, ecological health, or productive land.

We have also emphasised the role of early and robust landscape assessment in identifying preferred growth areas. This approach allows housing to be planned alongside infrastructure, cultural values, and environmental constraints, reducing the risk of fragmented development and costly retrofitting later.

While we acknowledge the drive for efficiency and speed, our submission cautions against shortcuts. Effective housing growth requires design quality, meaningful engagement, and recognition of both urban and rural housing needs, including papakāinga.

We thank those members that contributed to our submission, which is an important advocacy on behalf of our profession.

Read the full submission here.