King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 30 January 2013. Volume:687;Page:7602. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
9. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Following his decision to appoint a new Minister of Housing what new policies if any does he expect his new Minister to implement to address the growing housing affordability issues in New Zealand? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 I expect the Minister to work with his colleagues on policies to address the real issues of housing affordability which as I have said before are to do with land supply building and resource consents and the cost of building materials. I also expect all Ministers to support the Government’s policy of keeping spending tightly under control. This is keeping interest rates lower than they would otherwise be and making a big difference to New Zealanders’ mortgages. 
Hon Annette King 
: In light of that answer where did he get the information that led him to state last week that it is ridiculous that developers can wait 6 to 18 months for resource consents to build residential homes in New Zealand? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: That is the advice my office has received but over the years actually I have met— 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked where he got the information—not just saying “from my office”. I asked where he got the information— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member’s point is fairly made. She did ask where—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! She did ask where the information came from. I guess what is not automatically clear is whether that is to the Prime Minister’s office or to the Prime Minister but since the Prime Minister is answering one assumes it is to the Prime Minister. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I would have to check with my office. I am not going to go and mislead Parliament. But I can tell the member that in the time that I have been Prime Minister I have heard much worse horror stories than 6 to 18 months in terms of getting resource consents. Maybe that is the reason why house prices doubled between 2001 and 2007 under a Labour Government. Maybe that is the reason or one of the reasons why section prices went up and maybe that is the reason why New Zealanders were paying twice as much for their mortgages under Labour as they are under the National Government. 
Hon Annette King 
: Is he aware that comprehensive data is provided to the Government from the Ministry for the Environment on councils and resource consents that the same data was provided to the Productivity Commission for its housing affordability report and neither of which backs up his figures of 6 to 18 months; if so why has he resorted to exaggeration and blaming councils when he should be focusing on the real issues that are stopping New Zealanders getting their first homes? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes I am aware of the first point. Secondly let me make this point. Interestingly enough the Productivity Commission’s report that was released which the Government is looking to follow looks at the areas that we think are the real issues behind housing. They are land supply building consents resource consents and the like. By the way that happens to mirror the work and the report that were done by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for Helen Clark. She sat around with half of the department working on that for years. By the way here are the results under Labour: house prices doubled mortgage rates went through the roof and housing affordability was awful. 
Hon Annette King 
: What factors have now enabled the Government to have built homes up to 300 square metres with four bedrooms for under $485000 on prime land at Hobsonville according to the Department of Building and Housing—not the one-bedroom or terraced housing that he claimed in answer to an earlier question today? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I have got to be blunt: I am getting a bit giddy on the numbers. They started at $300000 then they were $550000 now they are $485000. 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [ 
Interruption 
]  
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! A point of order has been called. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! There must be silence. 
Hon Annette King 
: My question related to the Government having built homes at Hobsonville that are 300 square metres that have four bedrooms that are being built for under— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member is now actually using the point of order to enter debating material. The question was a pretty clear question. I think the Prime Minister should treat it as such. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: There will be across New Zealand and across Auckland a range of prices to build a house. There will not be a four-bedroom house for $300000 as David Shearer was trying to tell people. Interestingly enough here is one mildly interesting statistic that the House might be interested in. I have seen reports that the basis for some of Labour members’ arguments is the Housing Foundation. Interestingly enough it has produced 15 units with an estimated price of $425000. What Labour forgot to tell New Zealanders is that by the way of that $6 million investment the Government had to— 
Hon Member 
: You’re making it up. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: —I am not making it up; it gets real good though—we had to put in $2 million. So guess what? 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You did hear my question clearly. I asked about Hobsonville. The Prime Minister then answered about the rest of New Zealand and then about Labour’s policy. Why does he not address the question which specifically asked about Hobsonville about four bedrooms and about 300 square metres? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! The member is not helping herself by bellowing that across the House. Because of the time that has elapsed I will invite the member to repeat her question but it must be exactly that same question. 
Hon Annette King 
: Exactly as I asked it. What factors have now enabled the Government to have built homes up to 300 square metres with four bedrooms for under $485000 on prime land at Hobsonville in Auckland according to the Department of Building and Housing—not the one-bedroom or terraced housing he claimed earlier in question time? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: For a start-off this is not our policy. This is Labour’s policy that you can build a four-bedroom house which it told us was for 300 grand. Secondly if those members want to go directly to Hobsonville— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think I can predict the member’s point of order but I will hear it to make sure. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: The question related to the houses built by the Prime Minister’s Government. He has talked about every other entity building houses not the houses that his Government built. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I hear the member. The question asked what factors have enabled houses to be built at Hobsonville of a certain size for under a certain price. That was a very straightforward question. It seemed to claim that the basis of the information appeared to be Housing New Zealand Corporation statistics and I think that is what is causing the disruption in the House—[ 
Interruption 
] That member will not be doing too well either if he keeps interjecting when the Speaker is on his feet. It was a reasonable question. The member claims that houses of that size are being built for that figure and is asking what factors enable that to be. I think that is not an unreasonable question. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I am advised that houses in Hobsonville—I do not have the numbers on $485000 but I am advised that for $400000— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Your Government built them. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No we did not. We do not have a bunch of builders out there. We use the private sector. But going back to one thing for $400000 you get a one-person studio at the lower end or a two to three-bedroom terraced house on 130 square metres. But if it is all so easy there is no housing problem then. 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Perhaps I could clarify for the Prime Minister where I got the data— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! [ 
Interruption 
] No order! The member must not do that when I am on my feet. Look I gave the member the opportunity to repeat her question and the Prime Minister clearly has a different view of the information. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! He has answered the question by basically disputing the information and he is at liberty to do that. He is at liberty to do that. The member can pursue it with further supplementary questions. 
Louise Upston 
: What reports if any has he received on alternative policies that claim to address the issue of housing affordability? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I have seen reports of a policy to build around 66000 houses for $300000 each. Then the policy got changed to be about building small apartments and terraced houses in Auckland. Then the cost went up to a maximum of $550000. Then today I see it is back down to—I cannot actually work out whether it is $300000 $400000 or $485000. That makes me tempted to think that Labour makes it up on the fly. But if I go back to my point about the KiwiBuild scheme the example of the Housing Foundation where the Government put in $2 million the interesting point there is that if we were to do the same thing for an estimated price of $425000 that would translate to 66000 homes at a cost of $8.8 billion. That is the level of subsidy required. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave to table a report from the Parliamentary Library for me regarding council resource consents which states that the figures Mr Key quoted cannot have come from the Ministry for the Environment survey and it does not know where he has sourced them. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! The member is telling the House that this report from the Parliamentary Library states that? 
Hon Annette King 
: Yes it does. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 









Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.