Smith Nick: Debate on Prime Minister’s StatementText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSmith Nick: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement[Sitting date: 10 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1397. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): It is great to be back in Parliament as part of John Key’s team which is implementing its ambitious programme for New Zealand. Today’s speech from the Prime Minister said it all. New Zealand is going well. We have got a plan to keep New Zealand moving forward and we are getting on and delivering the things that we got such a strong mandate in September to deliver on.A quick rebuttal to a couple of the comments. Disappointment—I live in hope that one day we will have a Green Party in Parliament that actually is concerned about improving our environment. A change of leadership I note is well overdue but I just hear the same old same old. I also have to note that there is going to be a by-election in Northland and I read on the wires that Mr Peters is going to be having a crack and he has been saying that this is the opportunity for Northland to get help on its way. Well let me just put the facts of the record straight because the way that MMP works is that if Mr Peters does succeed in Northland—and I have got far more faith in the good sense of the people of that region than to elect that has-been but if they do elect him—guess where help is on its way from. It is from Invercargill because what would happen would be that if the people of Northland vote for Winston Peters they would elect to Parliament a Ms Ria Bond the next New Zealand First member on the list from Invercargill. I know that there is some unusual Winston-speak but I do not think the people of Northland will be voting for a new member of Parliament from Invercargill which has a great member of Parliament in Sarah Dowie.The focus of my contribution on the Prime Minister’s statement is our environment and housing programme this year. But first can I rebut the litany of negativity we have had from members of the Opposition this afternoon. You see New Zealand is doing well and members opposite hate it. In fact I cannot recall a time in my 25 years as a member of this House that New Zealand’s vital economic statistics were in such good shape. Let us have a look. Economic growth—3 percent per year projected by Treasury another 3 percent next year and another 3 percent the year later. The cost of living was running at 5 percent when we became Government. New Zealanders were going backwards in their standard of living. Inflation is under 1 percent—the lowest in the 25 years—Denis O’Rourke: Interest rates are going up.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: —since I have been a member of this House. The member from New Zealand First has got the cheek to mention interest rates. Well as housing Minister I have got an interest in that. Do you know that interest rates are at the lowest level they have been for 40 years? In fact I saw in an ad in the paper that you can get a first-home mortgage at 5.4 percent. The last time you could do that was in 1967 when I was in nappies. I look at job growth—80000 new jobs in the last year. That is something of which we should be proud. I have a simple message for the whingers opposite and that is “Tell me a country right now that is doing better than New Zealand. Tell me a country right now that is doing better than Godzone here in New Zealand.” Kiwis know it—Kiwis know it. I will tell you why Kiwis know it. Do you know that in the last quarter—the last quarter of 2014—for the first time in 25 years more New Zealanders left Australia to live here than the other way round. People are voting with their feet with confidence in the programme of this Government.Those growth challenges I spoke of in jobs and in terms of the number of people living in New Zealand bring with them growing pains and housing is one of those that I want to talk about. This Government is on the case with a comprehensive and considered programme of reforms to increase both the supply and the affordability of housing.Hon David Cunliffe: Hasn’t got a clue—hasn’t got a clue.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Well here is a clue for you Mr Cunliffe. If we look at the Productivity Commission report what did it say was the biggest increase in the price of housing? The price of sections. In fact it said that the price of a section since 2000 has gone up from $100000 a section in Auckland to $300000. That is an increase of 300 percent. But if you look in terms of the price of a building that has actually gone up by half that. Another way of looking at it is the fact that where a house used to be made up of 40 percent for the section price today in Auckland that is 60 percent. And if we look at the report that has come out from the Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust this year the report from the Registered Master Builders Federation of New Zealand—all of them say that the core issue is dealing with the issue of land supply.So I am aghast when I hear members like the Leader of the Opposition saying “What’s the RMA got to do with the issue of housing affordability?”. Well let me tell him. What is the law that governs the creation of sections and land price? It is the Resource Management Act. And I say to this Parliament that if there is a member in this House who is seriously concerned about housing affordability knowing that the biggest increase has been in section price you need to look at the law that governs the development of sections and that is the Resource Management Act. That is the Resource Management Act and when I hear the Leader of the Opposition and other members in this House steadfastly refusing to consider change to that Act I say that they are the enemy of the young family who aspires to own their own home. Let me give just a simple example: a 29-hectare block of unimproved land in Auckland—29 hectares—going from a value of $890000 in 1998 to $115 million since then solely because of the metropolitan urban limit that has put a rigid barrier around the growth of Auckland which has enabled that landowner to make over $100 million at the expense of young families who want to aspire to own their own homes. And members opposite refuse to deal with the regulatory issues that are at the heart of that issue.Su’a William Sio: How many houses?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member opposite has just interrupted. He said “How many houses?”. Well let me tell you about the number of houses. When we came to Government in November 2008 1000 houses were being built per month. Do you know how many houses last year were built? It was 2000 houses per month—24000 houses. Residential building investment in 2014 was $10 billion. That is the most that this country has ever invested in residential housing both in dollar terms and real terms and it shows the progress that we are making as a Government. I say—Denis O’Rourke: That is not nearly enough.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member says: “It’s not enough. We need to do more.” We agree and that is why on 1 April we are introducing the most generous support for first home owners since the days of the State Advances loans and the days when you could capitalise your family benefit. That programme worth $430 million the biggest new expenditure that this Parliament and this Government have planned is going to help 90000 New Zealanders with a grant for them to be able to pull together a deposit to own their own home. When members opposite say: “What’s the Government doing?” I say that actually investing $430 million and helping 90000 young modest-income families get their first home is the sort of programme that we need to pull forward.There are changes that we are doing around the Building Act. There are changes that we are making. Do you know that last year more apprentices in the building industry were supported by this Government than ever before in the history of New Zealand? I originally put in my speech that there were 5000 extra new apprentices last year. I just had a phone call message through saying that they actually had a record month in December and the number is in fact 5500—another step that we are taking in terms of growing that industry. So I say yes I am looking forward to bringing resource management reform to this House. I suspect it will be one of the bigger bills that come before the Parliament this year and it will be a litmus test as to whether members opposite are full of noise or whether they are serious about addressing the long-term affordability issues for Kiwi families and whether this Parliament is prepared to give Kiwis a fair go in being able to own their own home.