An open letter to Nick Smith

Dear Minister,

I write to make two points. First, I fully support the idea you have proposed of building more homes for Aucklanders on public land. I am pleased your government has reversed its long-held opposition to major government-led house building projects to boost housing supply in Auckland.

I know you're constrained from explicitly acknowledging a "housing crisis," but I can see from your actions that you understand the crisis exists and that you want to help solve it. While my preference is for a larger and more closely-controlled scheme than you've proposed, and I would prefer other, additional, reforms to help more Aucklanders own their own homes, your proposal is a step in the right direction.

Second, however, you are clearly not competent to do this work. The failures you have overseen in this project are as basic as they are wide-ranging.

You didn't vet the land parcels to make sure they were, in fact, all suitable for building on before you announced you would build on them. You didn't consult Iwi, or even your Ministerial colleagues, on the Treaty of Waitangi implications of what you are doing, risking court action in the process. And you did not even check that all the land is yours to sell before telling the country you'd sell it. These errors are not only deeply embarrassing, but they also put the project – which, as I said, I support as a good first step – at grave risk.

You have turned a good idea into a laughing stock, and the buck stops with you.

In the name of actually helping Aucklanders into their homes, please resign from your housing responsibilities. There are much more competent Ministers in your caucus than you, and I'm sure many of them would jump at the opportunity to fix what you have broken. The people of Auckland deserve a Minister who is up to the task. Please resign so they can have one.

Sincerely,
Rob Salmond

Dr Rob Salmond owns and posts at Polity, a Wellington communications and data analytics consultancy. His current clients include the Labour leadership.