Solving a housing shortage with “dumb” land use approvals is counterproductive and will come at a long-term cost, a Suncorp executive warns.  

New Zealand EGM of business Sacha Cowlrick says property projects are regularly approved in areas known to be prone to floods, “trading one problem for another”.

“We continue to approve developments in hazard zones,” she says in an article titled Let’s Stop Building in Dumb Places. “We’re not learning from the past. We’re repeating it, with even more at stake.

“These decisions aren’t fixing the housing crisis and just might be setting up the next one.”

Ms Cowlrick says New Zealand’s planners must take a 50-year view, not a five-year one, because “once a home is built in the wrong place, the risk is locked in and so is the cost, not just for the owner, but for all of us”.

In Auckland, more than 4000 homes have been approved on floodplains since storms struck in 2023.

“It’s a pattern repeating across Aotearoa. Large developments are being considered in high-risk parts of Napier and Canterbury – places with painful memories of natural disasters,” Ms Cowlrick says.  

Premiums will rise or cover options may vanish in some areas, and government cannot afford to endlessly rebuild weather-affected communities, she adds.

“It’s not just about how many homes we build – it’s also about whether they’ll be safe in 10, 20 and 50 years.

“A home built quickly and cheaply in a flood zone is not affordable. The long-term cost of repeated repairs, stress and disruption must be factored in.”

Local councils’ consideration of natural hazard risk is too often overridden by pressure to deliver more housing, she says. She recommends a stronger national framework.

“It’s time to course-correct and build a system that genuinely protects people and places. When houses are built in harm’s way, nature will eventually have the final word.”