Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 28 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18396. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes especially the one when I said: “Gosh things aren’t going well with Brendan Horan then.” [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: That does not help the order of the House.Rt Hon Winston Peters: How can he say that high immigration numbers are to use his words a “good news story” when so many New Zealanders are being shut out of the New Zealand housing situation?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Because high immigration numbers are broadly speaking a good-news story for New Zealand. If I look back over the last 6 years of the National Government on average the net increase has been 8785 people per year. I would have thought that for a population of about 4.5 million people the addition of 8785 people on average per year is about right.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does he agree that immigration policy must first ensure that migrants do not displace New Zealanders already living here from first obtaining jobs or housing in their own country?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yes and that is the very reason why when you look at the requirements on employers they need to go and look for New Zealand workers first. There are certain circumstances where they cannot find them and on that basis they bring workers in. Or there are certain circumstances where it actually makes sense to convert workers—for instance students who have studied in New Zealand and have got a degree. On the other side of the coin 25000 of those migrants who come to New Zealand each year on average come from Australia.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why does his Government’s immigration policy not take into account the housing crisis in Auckland or the fact that almost 150000 New Zealanders are unemployed in their own country?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: There is no housing crisis in Auckland but there is a lot of work going on from the Government to ensure that more houses are built.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If it is good enough after a Credit Suisse report for the Australian Government to launch a federal inquiry into foreign purchasing of Australian housing and apartments why is he so set on doing nothing when the same thing is happening in New Zealand?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Far from doing nothing the Government is doing a wide range of things that are actually in line with what the Productivity Commission thought were the right things to do in relation to the housing market. Actually Australia does have a ban on foreigners buying properties other than new properties and it has a capital gains tax which is broader and does not work. I can see why that member now wants to talk about xenophobic policies when it comes to immigration because he has got so much—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why is the Prime Minister so dismissive of the concerns of so many New Zealanders when net inflow immigration predicted by Treasury in the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update—[Interruption]—at page 55 for “Big Ears’ ” sake—is for it to reach as high as 41500 this year?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well you will always get flows in immigration. That is largely driven actually by the number of New Zealanders who leave. We have a period at the moment because the economy is so strong and things are going well when very few New Zealanders are actually leaving and on that basis net migration is a little bit higher. As I said under our Government on average it has been 8785 people. But in answer to that question I could just say “Next question?” which is what the member said 11 times when he was asked about his comments—Mr SPEAKER: Order!