The Government's promise to build 34,000 new houses in Auckland over the next 10 years to help ease the city's housing shortage is "a reheated hodge podge" of existing initiatives, according to Labour leader Andrew Little.
The houses will replace 8300 old, rundown houses, leaving a total of 25,936 actual new homes, including 13,500 newly built social houses and 20,600 affordable and market homes.
Social Housing Minister Amy Adams says in Auckland around $650,000 is the price cap for Homestart eligibility.
But she can't say how many will be in that "affordable" range and Mr Little says we don't know how many first home buyers can actually buy the houses.
"And in the end when you look at the detail it is a reheated hodge podge of either stuff that's been already announced, stuff that's already happening," he said.
Mr Little says the Government is copying Labour's housing policy but Ms Adams says the difference is the Government's work is "very detailed in its development", fully costed and fully funded.
The policy will cost $2.2 billion, with the Government borrowing half of that from the private sector to fund the first phase of the plan before money comes in from house sales and rental returns.
And Housing New Zealand won't have to pay a dividend to the Government for 10 years, to help fund the programme.
Housing New Zealand has only built just over 150 houses in the past year and the Government has cited the lack of builders and infrastructure constraints as reasons for the housing shortage, but Ms Adams is confident about the programme.
"We're confident having spent two years testing this, going through it in a very high degree of detail that this is as fast as these houses can realistically be built," Ms Adams said.
"We know the cost of doing it. We know the sequencing. We know the requirements. We know the ability of the construction sector to do it."
Police are investigating an assault on a South Auckland petrol station attendant after the attackers tried to rob the Mangere business over the weekend.
The incident was captured on CCTV at 7.10am on Sunday and was posted on social media yesterday, which has since been viewed over 156,000 times.
The attendant can be seen walking on the forecourt of the G.A.S Service Station on Mascot Ave when one attacker appears from around the side of the building with their face covered, wielding a bat.
The attacker tries to beat the attendant with the bat, who backs into the service station.
The attendant manages to grab the bat off the attacker and starts to run after the attacker before a white sedan speeds onto the forecourt, causing the attendant to run for his life inside the petrol station.
Another black clad attacker gets out of the car and both try to attack the attendant before giving up and reserving the car out of the petrol station.
In a statement, Detective Senior Sergeant Albie Alexander said four offenders were in the stolen vehicle, which was recovered by police yesterday on Wallace Road in Mangere Bridge.
"Police are investigating this crime as an assault with intent to rob which can carry an imprisonment term of up to 14 years," Mr Alexander said.
"This is absolutely appalling behaviour and the community will be equally as outraged as police by this type of offending."
He said police have completed a scene examination at the G.A.S station and the attendant has been interviewed.
The attendant is understood to have taken the week off work to recover from the ordeal.
G.A.S Auckland Area Manager Bev Brodie told 1 NEWS the service station finds attacks like these "deplorable" and "happen way to often."
