Twyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 23 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5279. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Building and Housing: How does he intend to reduce the shortfall of Auckland houses in the next 2 years given that under this Government the shortfall is increasing by 5000 a year and the Productivity Commission predicts on current rates the shortfall—now 32000—will hit 60000 by 2020?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Housing): We have lifted the house build rate in Auckland for the last 4 years by 20 percent or more every year and that is the largest and longest sustained period of building rate increase in Auckland’s history. We have achieved this by freeing up land and breaking the metropolitan urban limit; speeding up consenting; record numbers of new apprenticeships; and a wide range of reforms on building materials on infrastructure and on regulatory changes and Government initiatives in places like Weymouth Hobsonville and Tāmaki. I do not accept the member’s interpretation of the Productivity Commission. I would also draw his attention to the Construction Pipeline report that I will be releasing next week which shows very different figures to those that he is quoting.Phil Twyford: Why did he tell the media that he had consulted with Auckland iwi about his plan to develop vacant land when official documents now confirm that he did not consult with Tainui or Ngāti Whātua before his announcement?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The first right of refusal in Auckland is with the Tāmaki Collective not with Ngāti Whātua so the clear legal advice the Crown received was that the consultation should be with those who have an interest.Phil Twyford: What about Tainui?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: In respect of the member’s interjection with regard to Tainui there is only a very small area of Auckland in which Tainui has a first right of refusal. The Government has not identified any sites in that Tainui area where there are suitable housing developments. If we do identify suitable sites in that area we certainly will be consulting with Waikato-Tainui.Phil Twyford: Why will he not adopt the Australian policy of allowing non-resident foreign investors to only build new properties off the plan which a cross-party committee of the Australian Parliament recently reported was helping to reduce house prices?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I note reports in the Sydney Morning Herald today that house prices in Sydney have gone up even faster than in Auckland. That is why this member’s attack on people with Chinese-sounding names and overseas persons as though they are the problem is incorrect. The problem is a lack of supply and that is why the Government is putting its primary efforts into growing supply.Phil Twyford: Which is the correct version of the Government’s position on a register of foreign property ownership: his statement that the Government would release information showing how many non-residents have bought property and which jurisdiction that they come from within 3 months; or that of the Minister for Land Information Louise Upston who told the New Zealand Herald that there would not be a foreign buyer register and no decision had been taken about whether it would be publicly released?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I can assure the member that the data provided by the Government will be a lot more accurate than the dodgy Chinese-targeted attack that he made on one group of ethnic New Zealanders which most members of this House found abhorrent. In respect of the data that will be collected with the bill that the Government announced the details of that are in the legislation. It is not a foreign buyer register; it is a tax record for non-resident taxpayers. That information will be released when it is collected more accurately from 1 October.Joanne Hayes: Does the Minister think that the Auckland housing problem is caused by people with Chinese-sounding surnames; if not why not?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No it is not the Kiwi way to target one ethnic group let alone to judge people on the basis of their surnames. It would be as unfair to ask what is little about Mr Little or whether Mr Twyford is a twit.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not—[Interruption] Order!Phil Twyford: Does he believe it is “blaming the foreigner” for Beijing Shanghai Singapore Malaysia and Hong Kong to have restrictions on non-resident property ownership to prevent investment from China overheating their housing markets; if not given that Juwai.com estimates $16 billion of investment from China is heading towards—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! There is too much in that question. The first part can be addressed.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I have not noted the Governments or political parties in China Malaysia or Indonesia collecting lists of people with Kiwi-sounding names and targeting us with their housing problems. I note that in Australia where they have some restrictions they have not worked. I notice that in countries similar to New Zealand like the UK the US and Japan there are no such limits. If we are going to put any rules in place we are going to do so on the basis of sound information not on the sort of dodgy ethnically targeted information that the Labour Party now does for political opportunism.Joanne Hayes: What changes has this Government made that reduce the attraction of residential property investment and address the demand side of housing in Auckland?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There have been five significant changes made by this Government in that respect. The first is that we removed the power to be able to claim depreciation on buildings a measure that cost building owners over a billion dollars. The second change is the brightline test that was announced in the Budget and the requirement to provide tax numbers and if non-resident an overseas tax number. The third change is the announcement of a non-resident withholding tax. A fourth change is the new Reserve Bank loan-to-value ratio limits which will mean from 1 October that those in property investment will have to have a minimum 30 percent deposit. I would also note that the changes made by the Government requiring insulation on older properties has a direct cost impact on those who invest in properties. All five of these measures do have a cost impact and a cooling effect on investment property.Phil Twyford: Does he accept the advice of the Dominion Post which said that his handling of the housing policy has been a mess that it is more of an attempt to look busy than to solve the problem that it is too hands-off and too small in scope?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I would love to read to the House the commentary on the botched attack on Chinese-sounding New Zealand names by over a dozen media and not only that the criticism from members of his own party who are embarrassed by the way that he has trashed the name of the Labour Party which historically has stood for a diverse New Zealand.