1. Emergency Housing—SupplyPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social HousingORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSEmergency Housing—Supply1. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social Housing: Does she stand by her statement on emergency housing We are on track to have 8600 places across the country available. We want to have the bulk of those in place by this winter"; if so can she guarantee there won't be more families living in cars and garages this winter?Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for Social Housing): Yes; and no.Phil Twyford: Were the emergency housing providers wrong when they warned recently that more homeless families will be sleeping in cars parks and garages in Auckland this winter because of a desperate shortage of affordable rentals?Hon AMY ADAMS: What I would say is that this Government has recognised that there is a need for more emergency and transitional housing places to help people in insecure housing which is why we committed $354 million to doing something no Government has ever done which is to provide Government assistance to build 2150 more emergency and transitional social housing places which will house up to 8600 households every year. That is a significant improvement on the situation prior to this Government.Phil Twyford: How is it that by March this year only a third of the emergency housing places she promised were actually available—only five more beds than in September last year?Hon AMY ADAMS: That is because these have to be new houses. The Ministry of Social Development teams are in the market looking flat out for every available piece of land and every available provider. We have the money available but we have to find the real estate and building and bringing new houses to market does not happen quickly. We are moving at pace. Over the period the member quotes we have actually delivered 90 new places but as some contracts have come to a close that has seen the net number change. As I have said we are on track to have the bulk of our new places available for winter.Phil Twyford: Well where are the new beds going to come from given that she has in the pipeline only enough to deliver half of what she promised in September with only 143 more properties contracted to be provided by NGOs before winter?Hon AMY ADAMS: I dispute the member's characterisation because actually our indications are that we are well on track to have at least 1700 of those 2100 in place for this winter and we are working hard to ensure even more are in place for this winter. That is the commitment we have made—to have the bulk of them in place—and I have every confidence that we will do that.Phil Twyford: Why has the Government failed to follow through on its promises after thousands of people endured a winter of misery last year and now we head into another winter with a housing market that is still acutely short of affordable rentals?Hon AMY ADAMS: The Government has not failed to deliver on its promises. In fact it has done exactly what it promised to do which was to put $354 million of new money into funding an area that has never been funded previously to build 2150 places across New Zealand which will house 8600 families every year. We are well on track to have the bulk of those in place by this winter. That is exactly what we promised. We are doing it and it is something that the Labour Government failed to do in all its time in office despite clear evidence of need.Phil Twyford: Does she regret after 8 years of her Government denying that there is a housing crisis that she as the Minister is now having to deal with the human cost of her colleagues' failed housing policy?Hon AMY ADAMS: Well we are absolutely clear that there is a need for emergency and transitional funding which is why we are putting $354 million into it. But let us be clear: this is not a new problem. What is new is that this is a Government that is actually doing something about it. Whether it is through Minister Smith's land use development proposals or bringing on available capability this is a Government that is backing development while Labour did nothing in its time in office and is now opposing housing developments.Hon Michael Woodhouse: What reports has she seen of people living in cars?Hon AMY ADAMS: I have seen reports from the Bay of Plenty Times of people sleeping in cars and under trees and of the Salvation Army turning people away. I have seen stories from the New Zealand Herald of Monte Cecilia turning people away from homes who end up in cars and garages because there is no room; from the Salvation Army of people living in shanty towns similar to those in Brazil and the Philippines and of people living in Northland in cars because they are unable to afford housing. All of those were from 2004 and 2005 when Labour did nothing."