Totally agree, and just as important in the rural town of Warkworth, with Auckland Council’s plans for it to house 20,000, up from 4,000, by 2040.

Totally agree with you Tim.
There are a number of facets to this issue, one of the big ones is the cultural position of many/most kiwis, that being that we all want our own 4 bedroom house with a backyard. This has been drilled into all of us over the years, although in many areas (not all mind you) this is no longer possible, sustainable or affordable. I suspect the current housing crisis may start swaying peoples opinions, however another key reinforcing problem is the fact that developers are extremely reluctant to build medium and high density housing in any significant volume.
I think a key directive needed to assist to no require Councils in urban areas (Auckland as the first cab off the ranks) to provide a percentage of new housing units within its jurisdiction to be medium/high density. This model is used in the United Kingdom to significant success, and there is no reason it cannot be used here.
The second step would be to impose urban limits to halt unchecked urban expansion, however this does need to be considered carefully as it can bump property prices up further if done carelessly.

Buildings constructed correctly can be very resistant to earthquakes. Japan has done very in this regard.

Hi Tim
Good idea – but we do get earthquakes and there will probably be a big one soon
If we do go that route we do need to make sure we don’t have any more CTV buildings