Twyford Phil: Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 08 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6322. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū): As my colleagues have pointed out Labour is voting for the Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill but as with so much Government legislation we are voting for it because it is better than nothing—but not by much. This is typical of the kind of housing policy legislation and initiatives that we have seen from this Government while Nick Smith has been the housing Minister. He is the “Minister of Grudging Half Measures” and this is a classic of the genre.We have got two main criticisms of this bill. One is that it is incoherent that it is shot through with loopholes and that it falls well short of what it could have done. The other main criticism is that this bill is pretending to be something that it is not. This bill is the National Government going into contortions trying to convey to the electorate of New Zealand that it is doing something about the housing crisis. But as with so much legislation that this Government brings to the House it is simply there to convey the idea that it is doing something.New Zealanders desperately want to see action on non-resident foreign buyers bidding up the cost of New Zealand houses and contributing to young Kiwi families being locked out of the housing market. Under that Minister Nick Smith we have got the lowest rate of homeownership in 64 years and he is responsible. He is responsible for that. Let us think for a moment about what New Zealanders want to see. A recent New Zealand Herald poll told us that 77 percent—77 percent—of New Zealanders want to see Labour’s policy of a ban on non-resident foreign buyers buying existing houses implemented. Only 15 percent support the National Government’s policy; 77 percent support Labour’s policy of a ban on foreign buyers buying existing houses. Fifteen percent of people support Nick Smith’s policy. 3 News did a poll in July last year that showed that 61 percent of New Zealanders support a ban on foreign buyers 54 percent of National Party voters support a ban on foreign buyers and 82 percent—82 percent—of New Zealanders support a register on foreign property ownership. That is why this bill is before the House: the polls got so bad on this issue for the National Government that it decided that it had to do something. Kiwis are sick and tired of seeing their land and housing sold out from under their feet under this National Government.The National Government however does not want to see a proper register of foreign property ownership that is transparent and that is clear because it does not trust New Zealanders with the information. It does not want New Zealanders to see it. That is why we have got this bill because it wants some half-hearted weak-kneed bill that does not actually collect the data that is needed. And it will not be data that is actually made accessible and transparent to New Zealanders because Nick Smith wants to release his half-hearted data selectively—for spin for his own political reasons—because he does not trust New Zealanders with that information.As Julie Anne Genter said earlier in this debate all over the world particularly in Pacific Rim economies offshore money is overheating domestic real estate markets. That is why the Australian Government has a policy like Labour does of banning non-resident foreign buyers from buying existing houses. That very successful policy—that very successful policy—is channelling Chinese investment into the building of apartments in Sydney and Melbourne something that it would actually be quite nice for us to have in Auckland right now. Tony Abbott has got that policy. David Cameron has the policy of a fully searchable and transparent register of foreign property ownership because he is concerned about money-laundering. But this Government is not.I think it is interesting to ask why the National Government is taking this position. Why is it being so blind to the desires of New Zealanders for some controls on offshore ownership in our real estate market? I think there are two reasons. You can find one reason in the recent report in the New Zealand Heraldof a couple who were on the electoral roll as students but who had amassed $26 million worth of property in Auckland. And do you know what that same report said in the New Zealand Herald? It said that the couple donated $370000 to the National Party’s last election campaign. That gives you a little clue as to why the National Government is not interested in shutting down this mile-wide loophole—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry to interrupt this member but his time has expired.