Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeShearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 28 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10392. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.DAVID SHEARER (Leader of the Opposition) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.David Shearer: Does he stand by his statement in relation to affordable housing that “We are very serious about resolving this issue.”; if so why do the Budget forecasts show an increase in average house prices by up to 46 percent by 2017 or more than 10 percent a year?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well that is Treasury’s forecast but we are very serious about that issue. That is why the Government has been prepared to release 39000 sections in Auckland alone over the course of the next 3 years working alongside Auckland Council. That is why this Government does not want to embark on printing money—which Labour and the Greens support—because that would drive up interest rates. Thatis why this Government is successfully managing the economy: to make sure that New Zealanders can afford to buy a home.Grant Robertson: Stop telling lies.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: It is not a lie. It is not a lie Grant. I am afraid you are tied at the hip to your boy over there.David Shearer: In light of his last answer have there been any targets set for the number of affordable homes that will be built as part of the 39000 homes under the housing accord with Auckland Council?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not sure that a firm target has been set but there is wide expectation that a great many of them will be affordable because the reality is that firstly that is where the demand is; and secondly by fast-tracking the process and ensuring that they are built right across Auckland the very target of this is actually for affordable homes.David Shearer: Can he guarantee that any of the 39000 homes that are going to be built as a part of the accord will be in the affordable range? Can he guarantee that?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The Government itself is not building the homes so by definition you can only make these statements but of course there will be affordable homes built—of course they will be built. In reality the only guarantee that we can make is that if Labour and the Greens ever got the chance to print money they would drive inflation up.David Shearer: What confidence can Aucklanders have that affordable housing will actually be built when the housing accord talks only about giving “consideration to the provision” of affordable housing?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What the member seems to be saying is that Len Brown the Mayor of Auckland has all of a sudden left the Labour Party and is interested in building big homes that do not attract the people who want affordable housing. Well if that is what he thinks about Len Brown maybe he should go and tell him.David Shearer: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That question was addressed to the Prime Minister. It was a really straight question. I do not want to hear about somebody else whom he knows; I would like to hear what the Prime Minister thinks about it.Mr SPEAKER: The member needs to think carefully about the question he asked which is what confidence would Aucklanders have that housing would be affordable etc. That is a political type of question that will get a political type of answer.David Shearer: I will ask it a different way: what safeguards has he put into his housing policy to make sure that speculators building on his new land do not build all of the homes at the expensive end of the market?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well it is not my land but the reality is that the commitment between Auckland Council and the Government is to try to build 39000 homes on brownfield and greenfield sites over the course of the next 3 years. The mayor himself is on record—I was at the press conference that we held—saying that his focus is on affordable housing. I might add while we are at it that if we want to care about people having access to good-quality homes this is the Government that in the Budget announced that 3000 additional bedrooms will be built for State houses in Auckland—David Shearer: Bedrooms!Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well the member laughs but that is right. The Labour Government did absolutely nothing in 9 years in caring about large families—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is quite a sufficient answer.