What is the Minister’s response to the April 2025 interim RIS on Highly Productive Land, that indicated that due to the distribution of LUC 3 land it "may not yield immediate housing benefits" and could be "disconnected from established supporting infrastructure"?

Answer

The Government’s Going for Housing Growth programme targets multiple system settings to improve housing affordability and productivity for New Zealanders. Restrictions on land-supply are one of a range of factors contributing to unaffordable housing. Public consultation on the removal of LUC 3, as well as alternative options, took place between 29 May and 27 July 2025. Based on that public feedback, officials recommended an approach to balancing urban development with maintaining protection of higher quality soils, to be progressed in advance of the RMA replacement legislation. This change is part of a range of measures this Government is putting in place to better enable urban development.