In a shocking twist, mild-mannered economist Shamubeel Eaqub has taken a break from calling bullshit to call “good shit” on Auckland Council for passing the Unitary Plan.

We thought it would be so hard. Just a few months ago, dozens of people trundled into Auckland Town Hall to yell insults at anyone who’d ever had a positive thought about housing density. The crowd were angry about a new version of the Unitary Plan allowing roughly 300,000 extra dwellings in Auckland, and they had the support of a majority of councillors. Today those same councillors signed off a version of the plan that allowed 422,000 more houses.

In his inaugural and probably only episode of “Shamubeel Calls Good Shit”, resident Spinoff economist and housing oracle Shamubeel Eaqub applauds our elected representatives’ remarkable turnaround. This plan enables enough development to deal with Auckland’s projected growth, allows increased housing choices, paves the way for better public transport and makes the city more compact. Our councillors did the right thing passing it. Good shit guys!