Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 27 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18305. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Metiria Turei: Does the Prime Minister stand by his statement that the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme run with the Green Party as part of our memorandum of understanding with National was “potentially one of the most significant public health initiatives of the decade.”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yes.Metiria Turei: Is it not then the case that it is ordinary Kiwi families who are missing out on a warm dry home and not millionaires when only 12000 homes have been insulated under his restricted scheme compared with 60000 homes in the final year of the Greens-National Heat Smart programme?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not sure I can agree with the figures of the member but what I can say is that under the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme that we ran approximately 238000 homes were insulated at a cost of about $347 million. In addition to that the Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes scheme in Budget 2013 was allocated over $100 million over 3 years and that will insulate a further 46000 homes. So in total that is around 300000 homes.Metiria Turei: Can the Prime Minister confirm that an ordinary family with two kids on the median income earns about $30000 too much to qualify for support under his restricted insulation scheme?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What I can confirm is that the scheme has changed from the early days where essentially it was a scheme where the Government put in about a third of the contribution and about two-thirds was paid by the individual. What we actually agreed with our partners the Māori Party in Budget 2013 was that the real focus should go on those who have got no capacity to make a contribution. So we allocated $100 million and we said that those 46000 homes would be the total focus of that programme and they would be for very low-income New Zealanders. I think that is actually a good thing to do. They are people who are in desperate need and normally seem to be the people whom the member wants to stand up for. Today she seems to be saying that middle-income New Zealanders should get it at those people’s expense.Metiria Turei: Why has the Prime Minister given the vast majority of Christchurch families the cold shoulder by rejecting the Green Party’s proposal to allocate $60 million for ceiling wall and floor insulation just as Christchurch approaches its fourth post-earthquake winter?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is a real stretch to make the claim that the member has. If you look for instance just at the Clean Heat and clean air programmes that we ran in Canterbury over 10000 homes between 2009 and 2013 were converted to clean heat or clean air. A great many of the 300000-odd homes including all of the State homes that could be insulated were part of that programme. I think that for the most part the people of Christchurch would say that they had been fairly treated by the Government.Metiria Turei: Why is the Prime Minister locking out most ordinary Kiwi families from support to insulate their homes when he himself has said: “Warmer drier homesmean energy savings lower power bills and healthier communities. The programme also stimulates the economy and creates jobs.”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is a stretch to say that we are. This is a Government that when it came into office was committed to this programme. It has seen 300000 homes insulated under our watch. That is massive multiples more than had been the case under the previous Government which over 9 years insulated very few homes. I simply say to that member that it is all very well getting up and making promises that she will insulate so many homes but to do that she would actually have to be part of the Government. I do not know whether she got the memo but according to Labour it wants to marry New Zealand First. It does not want a bar of you. You are just a welcome mat.Metiria Turei: Given the Prime Minister’s support for a scheme that provided significant access for ordinary Kiwi families to insulate their homes to keep their children healthy and well will he now commit to supporting the Green Party’s extended Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme of $300 million over 3 years to ensure that another 200000 New Zealand homes are insulated as well as the Warm Up Christchurch programme of $60 million to make sure that Christchurch homes are as warm and dry as possible?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. What I can say is that the Government has run an extensive programme over the course of the last 6 years. It has seen 300000 homes insulated. The Government may consider its options of what it wants to do in the future. But what I find absolutely incredible is that the member was here in the House last week telling me that I should basically be extending greater benefits and resources to children of beneficiary homes. Today she is telling me that they are probably the very homes that arguably we are insulating under the programme we are doing with the Māori Party. She does not want us to do that; she wants us to go back and give more money to middle New Zealand. I just cannot work the member out which is probably why the Labour Party does not want her and is trying to marry New Zealand First.