David Norman, chief economist at Auckland Council, spoke at the recent Business North Harbour lunch, held at North Shore Golf Course in Albany. He provided an overview of the state of the Auckland economy, highlighting the impacts of Auckland’s growth in the past 10-15 years. Statistics clearly demonstrated the differences in growth rates, and housing supply and affordability between Auckland and the rest of the country. David believes the housing shortfall is not going to be overcome in the short term, though the latest figures showed that the Unitary Plan appears to be having the desired impact of stimulating development in existing urban areas.