10. Housing Affordability and Availability—Government Measures to AddressPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister of FinanceHousing Affordability and Availability—Government Measures to Address10. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister of Finance: What has convinced him to announce a Government-backed building programme to build medium-density housing using economies of scale to drive down costs and why is it now a priority after 8 years in Government?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance): The member is wrong. The Government did not need to be convinced. Since the day we took office in 2008 we have been working on the Tāmaki redevelopment programme—Phil Twyford: Rubbish. There was a 5-year hiatus.Hon BILL ENGLISH: —which will deliver 7500 houses to the Auckland market in the coming years. Well the member should ask Mr Pat Snedden about the meetings that were held at that time. We started working on a Government-backed—Phil Twyford: You did nothing for 5 years.Hon BILL ENGLISH: No no. The member should listen. In February 2011—for the member's information—a large earthquake hit Christchurch which required a Government-backed building programme to build 700 new houses and repair 5000 Housing New Zealand houses in Christchurch. Of course since then we have accelerated the work at Hobsonville. Now that we have the new Auckland Unitary Plan the member is starting to take notice of the large-scale Government building programmes that have been going on through the last 8 years.Phil Twyford: Can he confirm that the compelling new information that shows that his housing policies have failed completely and that his housing crisis is spinning out of control was provided by that well-respected housing policy thinktank Curia Market Research?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Absolutely not. As I have pointed out to the member he may not have done his homework but a number of large-scale programmes have been under way. In fact I invite the member to visit Christchurch to see the 700 new Housing New Zealand houses that were built and the 5000 repairs. I invite him to visit Hobsonville. I invite him to visit Tāmaki which is out in the market right now procuring large-scale developers so that 7500 houses can be built there. And we have only just got started.Phil Twyford: Why is he refusing to guarantee that all the new houses he now promises to build will be for first-home buyers and Kiwi families and not for property speculators or is he still on the side of the speculators?Hon BILL ENGLISH: It shows the member fundamentally misunderstands housing markets. The fact is that under the Auckland Unitary Plan the Government owns sufficient land already in Auckland to now build another 30000 houses. They will be a mixture of houses sold to the market—medium-priced houses for first-home buyers or lower-income families that can afford them but most importantly social housing because the Government is responsible for meeting the growing demand for social housing in Auckland. We will make those decisions as we go.Phil Twyford: How many of his promised maybe 30000 homes in Auckland over the next maybe 7 8 9 or maybe 10 years" are to make up for the deficit of 42000 homes in Auckland built up on his watch or are they in addition to the 42000 homes he is already running behind on delivering?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am not exactly sure what the member means but I can tell him this. It is only in the last couple of months that it has now become legally possible to build at the scale that I have indicated. The Auckland Unitary Plan and previous Auckland plans in which that member participated prevented the building of the number of houses that Auckland needed. Now it is going to be possible and that is a major achievement on the part of Dr Nick Smith and the Auckland Council.Phil Twyford: Would he agree that with his track record of flogging off State houses pensioners living in campgrounds property speculators running riot and his so-called building boom delivering 18 affordable homes in 3 years the public are likely to see his latest musings for what they are: another poll-driven diversion from his failed housing policy?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I can understand the member's concern that the Government's policy for social housing is now so popular that we cannot meet the demand for changes and for transfers and for better services. I can also understand the member's concern that the size of the Government's rebuilding programme has become apparent even to him—even to him—and that is not going to help him politically."