Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities Bill

2.1. Are there any publicly available inquiry, review or evaluation reports that have informed, or are relevant to, the policy to be given effect by this Bill?

YES

The proposal to establish a new entity to drive transformational urban development is informed by a series of Productivity Commission reports, beginning with the Housing Affordability Inquiry (2012), Using Land for Housing (2015), and Better Urban Planning (2017). The Housing Affordability Inquiry focused on New Zealand’s experience with collaboration and the experiences of urban development authorities in Melbourne and Queenstown.[1] The Using Land for Housing concluded that urban development authorities can play an important role in de-risking development and bringing land to market.[2] This advice was carried through to the Better Urban Planning report.[3]

The proposal was also informed by a 2017 discussion document, the Urban Development Authorities discussion document.[4]

2.2. Does this Bill seek to give effect to New Zealand action in relation to an international treaty?

NO

2.3. Were any regulatory impact statements provided to inform the policy decisions that led to this Bill?

YES

“Supporting Complex Urban Development Projects with Dedicated Legislation”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, 30 November 2018. This is accessible at https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/risa/regulatory-impact-assessment-supporting-complex-urban-development-projects-dedicated-legislation

2.3.1. If so, did the RIA Team in the Treasury provide an independent opinion on the quality of any of these regulatory impact statements?

YES

The RIA was provided alongside the 2018 November Cabinet paper Establishing the national urban development authority [CAB-18-SUB-0265] and Treasury Regulatory Quality Team (RQT) advised that:  

The RIA is largely the same as the one considered by Cabinet in May 2018 [CAB-18-SUB-0243]. The main areas of change concern:

• inclusion of options for the legal form of the Urban Development Authority (UDA);
• clarification on the development plan process and disputes resolution;
• clarification on the Treaty of Waitangi and implementation, including the exemption of sensitive Maori land for compulsory acquisition;
• clarification of offer back obligations.

RQT re-confirms its earlier assessment that the information and analysis summarised in the Regulatory Impact Assessment meets the Quality Assurance criteria.

The RIA has a clear structure, and exhibits clear thinking on the nature of the problem and the available options for each issue. The analysis also identifies that there are adverse potential impacts for current residents and property owners.

2.3.2. Are there aspects of the policy to be given effect by this Bill that were not addressed by, or that now vary materially from, the policy options analysed in these regulatory impact statements?

NO

2.4. Has further impact analysis become available for any aspects of the policy to be given effect by this Bill?

NO

2.5. For the policy to be given effect by this Bill, is there analysis available on:

(a)   the size of the potential costs and benefits?

NO

(b)   the potential for any group of persons to suffer a substantial unavoidable loss of income or wealth?

NO

2.6. For the policy to be given effect by this Bill, are the potential costs or benefits likely to be impacted by:

(a)   the level of effective compliance or non-compliance with applicable obligations or standards?

NO

(b)   the nature and level of regulator effort put into encouraging or securing compliance?

NO

3.1. What steps have been taken to determine whether the policy to be given effect by this Bill is consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations?

No relevant international obligations were identified.

3.2. What steps have been taken to determine whether the policy to be given effect by this Bill is consistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi?

Te Arawhiti and Te Puni Kōkiri were consulted throughout the process of developing the policy proposals and the Bill. The Bill includes provisions to give effect to the Crown’s responsibility to consider and provide for Māori interests:

• The board will be required to ensure that Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities maintains systems and processes that ensure Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities has capability and capacity to uphold the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles when carrying out its urban development functions.
• It is a function of Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities to support the aspirations of Māori in relation to urban development.
• Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities’ operating principles include identifying and protecting Māori interests in land, recognising and providing for the relationships of Māori with their ancestral taonga, and partnership and early engagement with Māori.
• The Government Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development must include the Government’s expectations in relation to Māori interests, partnering with Māori, and protections for Māori interests.  

Housing New Zealand has an exemption to the Rights of First Refusal (RFR) over land in some Treaty settlements. This exemption is inconsistent with Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities’ approach to RFRs agreed to by Cabinet, and the Bill provides that Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities will not be able to use it. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is working with Te Arawhiti to engage with affected iwi.

3.3. Has advice been provided to the Attorney-General on whether any provisions of this Bill appear to limit any of the rights and freedoms affirmed in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990?

YES

Advice provided to the Attorney-General by the Ministry of Justice is generally expected to be available on the Ministry of Justice’s website at introduction of a bill, and can be accessed at https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/constitutional-issues-and-human-rights/

3.4. Does this Bill create, amend, or remove:

(a)   offences or penalties (including infringement offences or penalties and civil pecuniary penalty regimes)?

NO

(b)   the jurisdiction of a court or tribunal (including rights to judicial review or rights of appeal)?

NO

3.5. Does this Bill create, amend or remove any provisions relating to the collection, storage, access to, correction of, use or disclosure of personal information?

NO

3.5.1. Was the Privacy Commissioner consulted about these provisions?

NO

3.6. Has there been any external consultation on the policy to be given effect by this Bill, or on a draft of this Bill?

YES

The establishment of an urban development authority was consulted on as part of the Productivity Commission reports in Housing Affordability Inquiry (2012) [5], Using Land for Housing (2015) [6], and Better Urban Planning (2017) [7]. This consultation was incorporated into the final reports.

The 2017 Urban Development Authority discussion document issued by the then Government sought feedbackon the specifics of establishing an urban development authority. A full summary of submissions can be found here: https://www.hud.govt.nz/assets/Urban-Development/Urban-Development-Authority-Legislation/Summary-of-submissions-UDA.pdf

In early 2018, additional consultation on the likely form of an urban development authority was undertaken with a select group of high-growth territorial authorities and private network utility providers. A summary of this consultation can be found here: https://www.hud.govt.nz/urban-development/housing-and-urban-development-authority/huda-related-documents/

Housing New Zealand and the New Zealand Transport Agency were part of an interagency officials’ group that looked at options for entity form. Following Cabinet’s decision to disestablish Housing New Zealand and put its functions into Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities, officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development have been working closely with Housing New Zealand on entity and legislation design.

3.7. Have the policy details to be given effect by this Bill been otherwise tested or assessed in any way to ensure the Bill’s provisions are workable and complete? 

YES

We have tested the workability of the policy details to be given effect by this Bill with Housing New Zealand and its development subsidiary HLC.

4.1. Does this Bill contain any provisions that could result in the compulsory acquisition of private property?

NO

4.2. Does this Bill create or amend a power to impose a fee, levy or charge in the nature of a tax?

NO

4.3. Does this Bill affect rights, freedoms, or impose obligations, retrospectively?

NO

4.4. Does this Bill:

(a)   create or amend a strict or absolute liability offence?

NO

(b)   reverse or modify the usual burden of proof for an offence or a civil pecuniary penalty proceeding?

NO

4.5. Does this Bill create or amend a civil or criminal immunity for any person?

NO

4.6. Does this Bill create or amend a decision-making power to make a determination about a person’s rights, obligations, or interests protected or recognised by law, and that could have a significant impact on those rights, obligations, or interests?

NO

4.7. Does this Bill create or amend a power to make delegated legislation that could amend an Act, define the meaning of a term in an Act, or grant an exemption from an Act or delegated legislation?

NO

4.8. Does this Bill create or amend any other powers to make delegated legislation?

NO

4.9. Does this Bill contain any provisions (other than those noted above) that are unusual or call for special comment?

YES

This Bill makes changes to the Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Act 1992, including repealing restructuring provisions and transferring provisions relating to investigations of applications for financial assistance for home ownerships to the Bill. It changes the name of this Act to the Public Housing Management Act 1992. The Bill also repeals the Home Ownership Savings Act 1974.