Auckland mayoral hopeful Phil Goff: Limit immigration to fix housing crisis

Immigration needs to be slowed to curb Auckland's growing housing crisis, mayoral candidate Phil Goff says.

The Labour MP officially launched his campaign for the mayoralty at Corban Estate in west Auckland on Sunday.

The region was growing by 825 people every week, he told the crowd.

More than two thirds were new migrants to New Zealand, "from Brits escaping post-Brexit to those coming from Asia".

READ MORE: Auckland's homeless should head to prison grounds, Goff says

Immigration brought "skills and energy" to Auckland but needed to be at a slower rate for the region's infrastructure to cope.

However, he said he had no set figure in mind for a new limit on immigrants.

"I haven't got a figure, it's not sensible to have a number."

Goff said he welcomed foreign property investors, but called for them to "build houses and add to the economy, rather than buy and drive up the housing prices".

The "Kiwi dream" of owning a home was eluding growing numbers of Aucklanders and rents were becoming unaffordable for large sections of the population.

Goff said the housing crisis was a multi-faceted issue and Auckland Council, the Government, private businesses and non-government organisations needed to work together to solve it.

The council could also streamline the consenting process to speed up development, he said.

"As mayor I will institute a review to determine how [the] consenting process can be faster, cheaper and in line with best practice."

The mayoral hopeful has previously said that the region's homeless could be housed at the old Mt Eden Prison.

"The prison can serve as a temporary shelter, it has walls, beds, kitchens, toilets and has been empty for seven years," he said at a Talk Auckland session on August 25.

He said on Sunday that the proposal was put to him by homelessness advocates.

"Of course the first instinct is 'no'. But it's been empty for seven years and if I know how the council works, it would be empty 27 more. We wouldn't be locking the cell doors.

"It's a building with all the facilities, near the CBD. Obviously it would need a lot of work, but it might be worth it."

Goff's fellow mayoral contenders Mark Thomas and Vic Crone have slammed his proposal.

"This may be a hopeful plan for a future Minister of Housing, [but] it is not an effective plan for the next Mayor of Auckland," Thomas said.

Crone said she felt Goff was using copycat tactics.

"When I pushed Phil last week about having no housing and transport policy, three weeks out from voting papers, I didn't expect him to repeat my own policy."