Help us, Auckland Council.

So, put yourself in our shoes, Councillor. Growing up, you see how the world works. You see that your parents went to school, got a job or perhaps went to University. They saved their money, bought a car, got a mortgage for a house, got married, worked for their living, and if they were lucky, lived happily. Sometimes they even go overseas for holidays. You see this and think “Great, I can work within these rules, and if I have the same dedication, I too can achieve that kind of life.” Childhood is great, believing this to be true.

You’re aware of student loans now being required, but you don’t know why. Soon, you learn that it’s a new thing — that your parents didn’t need to get into debt to start their lives with education. That seems strange, and a little unfair, but it’s the norm now so you go along with it. After all, a University education is now expected in most careers now.

After University, you find yourself looking for a career. It’s not easy, there are a lot of demands and requirements. Was it always this way, you wonder? You compromise and accept a lower salary than you were expecting, and start to pay off your debt. Already you are disadvantaged compared to your parents, and it’s just the start of your working life.

Time passes. Sometimes things don’t go well. Life is stressful, and sometimes you are let go. Your parents cant help, as they had difficulties of their own, ending up in debt due to a failed business. They end up selling the family house for a pittance. You make the best of what you have, and finally secure a good job. Things look financially better, for the first time in your life, but there is still that student loan debt, always taking away some of your economic horsepower. You have been otherwise wise with your money, and only have what debt you absolutely had to take on. Credit card paid off too, if you are lucky. You would love to visit other places in the world, and make plans to do so, but there are so many expenses, and rent is high. You save money towards the goal, and if things go well, you are able to go on one trip of a lifetime. Or things don’t go well, and you don’t.

You start to worry about the future. Time is ticking on, and you realize you only have a limited working life. You start to save in order to get a mortgage like your parents did. But houses have gotten sharply more expensive in recent years. You hear that the median house costs 10x the median household income. You hear that interest rates are low, but that doesn’t help you because you require a deposit far greater than you can afford. You keep saving, but every month, the deposit required retreats further and further away. Meanwhile, the money you could be investing in your potential home is being sent to someone you don’t know, never to be seen again.

You become angry.

You start asking questions. Why do I not have equivalent opportunities that my parents generation had? They didn’t have to pay for education. They had affordable housing purchase options. They were able to take holidays, to relieve the stress of working. And after these things, they were able to save money. They even got paid more, relative to productivity and adjusted for inflation. You think about how to make more money, and realize that people are investing in property, which is pushing up house prices — houses which, when sold, make huge profit, tax free. Immigration is high also, leading to more demand on housing stock. City planning has been ignored, leading to more demand on housing stock. Even the council members itself seem to have vested interests to increase land values.

But the media tells you you are just lazy, and writes off your whole generation. “Just cut back on your luxuries!”, you are told. “Stop being entitled!”, they say. “Youll just have to change your expectations of where you will live. There is plenty of inexpensive land outside of Auckland!”

You don’t consider yourself entitled — you’d just like to have a fair opportunity to work hard and achieve a similar quality of life as every generation before you in recent memory.

— — — —

Auckland Council — my generation is being squeezed from all sides. We are a hardy bunch and don’t expect handouts, despite the rhetoric otherwise. We just think the current situation is unfair, and it’s come from multiple angles all at once. Everyone knows that young people are under-represented in politics, simply because we have too much else to worry about most of the time, but also because we aren’t taught to pay attention to the process. But we are becoming more politically aware, and are realizing that the process benefits the wealthy and the powerful, but that we can change that. What we want to see are strong leaders who are willing to go against the established order of things, and do what is right for people in general, rather than the few who are already well off.

We want a strong commitment to halving the price of houses in Auckland — not just by 2040, but within as many years as it took us to get to the point we are now. It’s going to be a shock to some people, but if we don’t do something now, an entire generation will have been unable to invest in its future. And as I’m sure you can agree, that would be catastrophic to the economy, and to everybody’s well-being.

Please don’t delay. Make wise choices for all Aucklanders — or we will pay dearly for it in the future.

Thank you.