Gosche Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Gosche Mark: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:641;Page:10819] 
8.  
Hon MARK GOSCHE (Labour—Maungakiekie) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: What reports has he received about support for affordable housing? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 I have seen reports of a speech given in Auckland over the weekend claiming to support the “home-ownership aspirations of everyday New Zealanders”. Curiously I have also seen a report from the same person that described Housing New Zealand Corporation’s Hobsonville development where 15 percent of the 3000 new homes being built will be reserved for first home owners as “economic vandalism”. It seems that John Key supports affordable housing as long as it is not in his own electorate. 
Hon Mark Gosche 
: Has he seen any other reports on ways to increase the supply of land for housing? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I am advised that the construction of a very large mansion in St Stephens Avenue in Parnell a home that a number of members opposite are very familiar with required two sections to be merged so that the large house could be built and that it required the shifting of a third house in order to make way for an all-weather tennis court. It is good for some people. 
Phil Heatley 
: Why is it that today the average price for a bare section is $175000 when that exact figure purchased a house plus a section when Labour first came to Government? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: As every person in this House will be aware house prices do move up—particularly in good times. What I can report is that at the moment a considerable amount of empty land contained within the metropolitan urban limit is being sat on by property speculators. 
Hon Mark Gosche 
: What further reports has the Minister seen about ways to encourage affordable housing? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I have seen reports grandly called “a concrete plan for making housing more affordable” advocating the gutting of the Resource Management Act the hocking-off of State houses and the deregulation of the building industry. Many of those policies were inflicted on New Zealanders in the 1990s by a National Government and they led to entrenched poverty the rise of Third World diseases the emergence of leaky homes and far fewer Kiwis owning their own homes. It seems that National has learnt nothing from the past. 
Pita Paraone 
: Tena koe Madam Speaker. Does the Minister agree that if policies to address housing affordability concentrate on demand-side issues and fail to address immigration—a key driver of house prices—then housing will continue to become increasingly unaffordable for many New Zealanders; if not why not? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: What I can record is that we are building record numbers of houses. But we are not building affordable houses and the Government is moving rapidly to address that issue. 
Tariana Turia 
: Kia ora Madam Speaker. Tena tatou katoa. What action has been taken following the report  
Maori Housing Experiences: Emerging Trends and Issues 
 by the Centre for Housing Research Aotearoa New Zealand which recommended that the Government should employ the multibillion-dollar asset base of Housing New Zealand to borrow responsibly on the money markets for the purpose of developing affordable homes for low and middle income families? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: The Government is addressing the question of affordable homes in a variety of ways. One of those is providing rental accommodation through income-related rents for our tenants one-third of whom are of Maori origin. In addition to that we have a very active programme of repairing rural houses and providing initiatives with third sector groups such as iwi groups to create housing opportunities outside our urban centres. 
Tariana Turia 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. My question related to affordable houses for individuals and families not to rental accommodation. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I think the Minister addressed it; it was not clear from the question what sort of housing it was about. I do not know whether the Minister wants to add anything. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I took it that affordable housing included rental accommodation but for homeownership we have the Welcome Home Loan scheme which almost 3000 people have now accessed; we have signalled that we are piloting a shared equity scheme; and we have a major initiative in providing affordable housing that will be announced before Christmas. 
Phil Heatley 
: Why does he ignore the housing supply in Auckland report that his own agency commissioned which says the RMA process needs a revamp and also says land availability is a constraining factor; why does he ignore those issues and make out that Hobsonville and a cute little shared equity scheme for the lucky few will be of any use to the hundreds of thousands of families across New Zealand who cannot afford their first home? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I am interested in any scheme that will deliver affordable housing for New Zealanders. I am not interested in clichés and failed policies. I would like to quote the  
Taranaki Daily News 
 which said last weekend “Mr Key offered platitudes and vagaries political smoke and mirrors and you can’t buy a house with that.” 
Phil Heatley 
: I seek leave to table today’s bare section prices which are greater than house and section prices in 2006. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Phil Heatley 
: I seek leave to table the Government’s Auckland housing report criticising the Resource Management Act and recommending sensible land release. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I seek leave to table an editorial from the  
Taranaki Daily News 
 that is headlined “Key plan built on a house of cards”. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I seek leave to table an article from the  
Waikato Times 
 that says that the Opposition has sensationalised its criticisms and that it is mischievous and illogical. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I seek leave to table an article from the  
New Zealand Herald  
describing the redevelopment by the Housing New Zealand Corporation in the Glen Innes area and saying “State houses become stately homes”. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is.