Post-politics and the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Resources and Environmental Planning at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
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Date
2019
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Massey University
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Abstract
This thesis draws on concepts of post-politics in an analysis of the Housing Accords and
Special Housing Areas Act 2013. A short-term means for improving housing
affordability by facilitating an increase in land and housing supply, the Housing
Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 had implications for the planning and
development of select cities and districts in New Zealand. Introduced by a National-led
Government, the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 was enacted in
sympathy with existing neo-liberal political and planning norms. The application of a
post-political lens facilitates identification of the democratic limitations of the Housing
Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013. Analysis of submissions to the select
committee addressing the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013 and
debates in the House of Representatives provides evidence of both limitations of the
debates that shaped the enactment of the legislation and challenges to the content of the
legislation. The ways in which debates were narrowed align with post-political themes
of the acceptance of the neoliberal consensus, the erosion of democracy, the status of
knowledge, scope of possible outcomes, and empty signifiers. The consensus that
characterises post-political conditions is open to challenge, with scholars reporting on
the potential of agonistic pluralism to facilitate democratic participatory planning.
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Keywords
New Zealand, Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act 2013, Housing policy, Housing, Political aspects, Politics and government, 21st century