Benno Blaschke: Government cannot fix housing until it can take its hand off the brake

PremiumOpinionOpinion byDr Benno BlaschkeNZ Herald·18 Jun, 2026 12:00 AM5 mins to readDr Benno Blaschke is a Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative.Caution becomes a constraint due to the Government feeling compelled to scrutinise every regional project, Benno Blaschke writes. Photo / Bevan ConleyBefore anyone can build a house in New Zealand, someone must pay for the pipes and the roads that connect a development to the city. While this seems like a minor detail, it is a central issue for housing affordability.

Almost always, the council pays for these connections upfront. And