Smith NickPOINT ENGLAND DEVELOPMENT ENABLING BILLSecond ReadingHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Construction): I move That the Point England Development Enabling Bill be now read a second time. Cows or homes—that is the simple choice that Parliament faces with this bill. Point England is a 45-hectare reserve 10 kilometres east of Auckland's CBD that for over 30 years has had cows grazing on 18 hectares of it. The bill lifts the reserve status on 12 hectares to enable Ngāti Paoa to undertake a housing development alongside 2 hectares that are being provided for a marae as part of their Treaty settlement. The area available for recreation and public space is being increased by 4 hectares.The bill is a win for housing in providing 300 new homes in close proximity to the city. It is a win for Ngāti Paoa in that it helps settle their historic Treaty claim. It is a win for the community in that it will increase the space for recreation and involve millions of dollars of investment in improving playing fields and community facilities. It is a win for the environment in that Ōmaru Creek which is one of Auckland's most polluted and toxic will be able to be funded for a clean-up. The only losers are the hundreds of cows that will be evicted. I am astonished that Opposition parties who spend half their time demanding that more houses be built and the other half arguing that New Zealand has too many cows and wants their numbers capped somehow oppose this bill. I want to thank the Local Government and Environment Committee for its work on the bill and for recommending that it be progressed.I want to put the bill in the context of the Government's broader plan for addressing Auckland's housing needs. There is a broad consensus that increasing supply is the most important component of a solution and that the lack of available land is one of the greatest impediments. That is why our Government created special housing areas where there are already 2500 homes completed 4500 consented thousands more sections completed and much more in the pipeline. That is why we introduced the special process for the Auckland Unitary Plan the urban development national policy statement the Crown land programme and the massive developments that are under way in sites like Hobsonville Tāmaki Weymouth and Northcote.Houses cannot be built instantly but the Government's programme is delivering the longest and strongest building boom in Auckland's history. Back in 2011 only 3500 homes were being built. It went to 4000 in 2012 6500 in 2014 7900 in 2015 and now over 10000 homes per year are being built in that city and residential investment in Auckland is at an all-time high of over $5 billion a year. But members on this side of the House know we need to do more and that is why we are freeing up underutilised land at Point England.I do get a bit cross when members opposite demand that new houses be built and then every time there is a development they come up with some reason to oppose it. I note Labour MP Michael Wood has led the charge in opposing the 1500 homes at Three Kings. I notice Labour and Green members are vigorously opposing the major 400-home development next to Mount Māngere. I noticed they have opposed developments because they are next to cemeteries or they are next to power lines. They are coming up with constant excuses as to why we cannot build more houses and their opposition to this Point England development is equally duplicitous.The argument that reserve land is sacrosanct does not wash. Just last year this Parliament put through the revoking of the reserve status of land in Riccarton for a major 400-home development and members from New Zealand First Labour and the Green Party were quite comfortable. If reserve land is sacrosanct they broke that rule last year.Equally so I have to say there is a precedent being created here. The Crown provided the Auckland City Council with this land for recreational purposes over 40 years ago and it has been used for grazing cows—18 hectares—for over 30 years. If the precedent that this Parliament creates is that if councils do not use reserves for the purpose for which they are intended the Government might use them for another purpose then I think that is a valuable precedent for this Parliament to set.The argument that we could just take some land next door from the Tāmaki Redevelopment Co. is equally flawed. You see if you take that land next door that means there cannot be the houses that are planned there. That means fewer homes not more. Equally so Ngāti Paoa have made it plain that Point England is their ancestral land and they will not accept that land next door from the Tāmaki Redevelopment Co. to resolve their Treaty settlement. So that alternative does not resolve that long-term Treaty settlement nor does it add to the much-needed pipeline of additional housing.I have also heard the arguments about the dotterels and I have sought technical advice. Actually the birds move their nesting sites every year. There is no evidence that a marae or housing would any more compromise the future of the dotterels than would the housing that is proposed by Ngāti Paoa and with the additional funding both Ngāti Paoa and the Auckland Council are totally committed to their future.I am appalled by Labour's minority view opposing the bill. Those members have sold Peeni Henare and the Māori Labour caucus down the road. Let me quote what Mr Henare as the MP for Tāmaki Makaurau said when this bill was introduced. He said: This particular bill offers an opportunity not just for Tāmaki-makau-rau but in particular for Ngāti Paoa" for whom he said—and I quote—he was "extremely excited". He went on to say that this was a "fantastic" bill that this was a win-win that it was not just about building houses but that it was about building communities. He went on to say that Ngāti Paoa must be able to "grasp … this … opportunity" and he said—and I quote—"We support this bill." So Mr Henare has been kneecapped by Phil Twyford once again over-extending himself.I say to Mr Twyford thank you for gifting the Asian vote with your misplayed Chinese-sounding names debacle for which you currently apologise. I am sure that the Māori Party will equally thank you for your opposition to this bill which has sent a very clear signal to Māori in Auckland that when it comes to the hard yards it is the Māori Party that will back iwi in Auckland not the Labour Party.All this talk about the preciousness of reserve land brings me to this: why is it—and where have the Labour Party and the Green Party and their mates on the Auckland Council been over the last 30 years—that that recreation reserve land has been grazed by a Pākehā farmer and they have said nothing and now Ngāti Paoa want to put a marae and housing on that land and somehow it is an outrage? That opposition is shallow it is opportunistic it shows that Labour is part of the problem and not part of the solution for housing and it is a political gift-horse for the Māori Party. If I was a member of the Labour Party I would be questioning the strategic leadership that is being offered over this issue.This is a good bill. This is a bill that gets 300 more families into houses. This is a bill that enables Ngāti Paoa to settle their Treaty grievance. This enables Ngāti Paoa to be able to have a marae in their ancestral area. I am proud to stand with members on this side of the House who say that houses in Auckland are more important than cows. I commend the bill to the House."