3. Housing Wellington—Supply Affordability and State HousingANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterHousing Wellington—Supply Affordability and State Housing3. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that the Wellington housing shortage is a problem of success"?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH (Prime Minister): Yes I do and as I said to the member when he asked almost exactly the same question a month ago I stand by my full statement which went on to say that the demand for Wellington rental housing was "certainly concerning for people who are looking for accommodation". I also said that I think this is pretty well understood by the council and that it is working towards enabling more housing. I hope the developments here are not going to be opposed by the Labour Party as they have been in Auckland.Andrew Little: What does he say to the Wellington families living in garages and motels because he knocked down the State houses and did not rebuild?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: Part of the reason there is a major change in the way we run State housing is precisely because of the problems in the Hutt Valley—that is old stock that is unsuitable for being occupied and slow response times for rebuilding it. That is why we are changing the system but we are being held up in Auckland by the Labour Party opposing the Point England development which would enable hundreds more social houses to be built.Andrew Little: Putting aside the fact that building a house 5 years ago is not much different to building a house today what does he say to the young families in Wellington struggling to pay the rent let alone save for a house—people like Frances from Lower Hutt who wrote to me to say: "Prices are out of reach and my husband and I both work 50 hours a week."?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: In respect of the individual families we would need to make sure that they are receiving all the assistance they are eligible for because we do spend $1.3 billion a year on accommodation supplement and that family may or may not be eligible. If rents are rising they are eligible for more support. Fortunately the Wellington City Council recognises more houses are needed because Wellington is now growing for the first time in a long time and I hope that Labour will not oppose the developments in the way it is opposing new developments in Auckland. Andrew Little: Has he been to the Hutt Valley and looked at all the land that has sat empty for years under his mismanagement of Housing New Zealand while local families cannot afford an affordable place to live? Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I know the Hutt Valley reasonably well. I have seen some of the empty sections that the member is referring to and I have also seen the large stock of old out-of-date Housing Corporation State houses which are the product of the previous lazy Government changing nothing. We are setting out to change it in the same way as we have got large-scale redevelopment going on in Auckland but as I have said to the member I am quite sure that as soon as we start developing in the Hutt Valley Labour will start opposing it. Andrew Little: Given his knowledge of and concern about the empty spaces littered across the Hutt Valley will he immediately build on that land a combination of good affordable starter homes for young families to buy and State houses for Kiwis in need; if not why not? Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am advised that those plans are under way and I would hope that the Labour Party will not organise community opposition to the developments as it has done in Auckland for Three Kings which it forced to the Environment Court with a several-year delay. And now in this House it is going to vote against the Point England bill which will allow hundreds of new social houses. Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was very clearly about Wellington. That large extended rant at the end of the Prime Minister's answer had nothing to do with the question that was asked. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well of course I am the judge of whether it is a large extended rant and I do not believe that making a comparison with a contemporary housing estate in a similar way is such. Andrew Little: What about the current situation is it that the Prime Minister just does not get? There is a housing crisis now families are struggling to make ends meet now families are living in garages and motels now—is it not time to stop playing silly buggers and to get houses built now? Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: As the Minister of Finance pointed out a bit earlier we have got the largest construction boom New Zealand has seen for decades and in fact some of the complaints now are that costs are escalating reasonably quickly and labour is hard to find. So New Zealand is building houses pretty much as fast as it can except in Point England where the Labour Party is opposing a large-scale development and in Three Kings where it is organising the community opposition to a large-scale development. That is why it has no credibility on this issue. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Question No. 4—[Interruption] Order! [Interruption] Order! You may think you will get away with a whole lot because you have got the relief teacher but you will not."