Jamie Morton from the Wairarapa Times-Age reports that the three Wairarapa councils have plenty of land that can be allocated for new developments, immunising the region from potential issues arising from Housing Minister Phil Heatley's call for councils to plan ahead to ensure land is available to meet the country's growing housing needs, particularly "affordable homes".

The Masterton District Council owns plenty of surplus land, including a block in Solway and another 30.7ha section, mostly zoned residential, stretching from Lansdowne Golf Course, Gordon Street to Kitchener Street.

Work on the Wairarapa Combined District Plan, now nearing completion, has indicated where other new housing development areas might be, Masterton District Council chief executive Wes ten Hove said.

On top of council land, there are a healthy number of sections in private subdivisions already on the market.

Carterton District Council chief executive Colin Wright said there are "significant" areas of land within the town, but the council does not own any of it and could not force owners to subdivide.

A stable population means the issue is not a major concern for the South Wairarapa District Council, chief executive Jack Dowds said, though infrastructure constraints had caused a "minimal" increase in residentially-zoned land in Featherston and Martinborough.

Dowds also said new residential subdivision rules allowed for smaller sites to be subdivided than was the case under the previous plan, thus freeing up more land.

The Minister said he was "very conscious" of the plight of existing home owners and investors who have seen the value of their properties diminish in recent months, citing lower interest rates and impending tax cuts as factors that would soften the blow.

Allowing space was just one issue the Government would be pushing councils on, in the wake of the alarming 2009 Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, which showed New Zealand had the second most unaffordable housing behind Australia, across 265 markets in six countries.

He also said the ministry would be ensuring roading and other infrastructure was provided in a "cost-effective and timely manner" and delivering "sustainable resourcing" for the non-government housing sector.

That included boosting funding for the Housing Innovation Fund and working with councils to remove planning restrictions to the development of housing on communal land and multiple-owned Maori lands.