Shanks Katrina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Shanks Katrina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:668;Page:14767] 
4. 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: What reports has he received about the stakeholder engagement carried out by the Housing Shareholders’ Advisory Group? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 On Sunday I made public the results of engagement carried out by our housing advisory group which includes Auckland City Mission and Salvation Army representatives. The overwhelming majority of community housing organisations supported the 19 recommendations made by the group and called for the Government to act decisively to address the current housing challenges that the most vulnerable in our society face. 
Katrina Shanks 
: What is the Government committed to in social housing? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: This Government is committed to income-related rents we are committed to housing those most in need in their time of need and we are also committed to increasing the total quantum of social housing in New Zealand although we do not make Labour’s claim that the State and the taxpayer have to own it all. We are saying that the State cannot afford to do this on its own and I have been personally heartened by the number of social housing organisations that are willing to step up and increase their capacity to house families in need as long as they receive significant direct resourcing support from us. I am happy for the opportunity to work with them. 
Katrina Shanks 
: What options is the Minister considering to better assist those most in need? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: No decisions have been made yet. However the group’s recommendation of working more closely with community housing organisations and providing them with capital land or houses in order to support them to grow is attractive to us. Their ability to provide one growth two affordable rentals with our support and three secure tenure would be essential. We also want to debate the current concept of a State house for life. The introduction of reviewable tenancies would allow us to assess a tenant’s circumstances every 3 5 or 10 years rather than tenants being in a State house for life regardless of significantly or dramatically improved circumstances. 
Moana Mackey 
: Does he agree with the strong position expressed both in the stakeholder feedback report and by members of his advisory group that any increased role for the community housing sector in the provision of social housing must be as well as not instead of continued investment from the Government? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: It not only would be as well as; what it would mean is that the Government and social housing organisations would work together and pool their resourcing. The idea is that social housing organisations would receive a capital base and therefore they would be able to borrow and also get a commitment from funders they know to purchase more houses. The goal is to increase the amount of social housing in New Zealand while ring-fencing the Government’s commitment. We plan to put no less money into social housing but we also have said that we cannot put any more in. 
Moana Mackey 
: Can we take from his comments in August that the Government will be expecting charitable giving to replace Government investment in social housing and from his comments this week that “we’re going to slow down and probably stop and go to the community-housing sector” that he will expect the community housing sector to step in and do the job that his Government should be doing? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: In fact the community housing sector is expecting to step in and help us with the job of housing more people in New Zealand. The sector thinks the amount of social housing in New Zealand should increase and it wants to help do it. The main point of our resourcing it through capital land cash or houses is it would have a secure base to borrow off and increase the number of houses it builds and supplies. That is good news; it wants to work with us. 
Moana Mackey 
: Can he appreciate that his new-found desire to help those most in need of housing rings a little bit hollow given that he personally stopped the building of 500 State houses in Auckland for the simple reason that the Prime Minister did not want them in his electorate? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I think Labour’s difficulty on this point is that it has lost the moral high ground when it comes to State housing because it left the houses in such a serious state of disrepair. Rats in the houses roofs collapsing dampness wetness mould—it was an absolute disgrace. If this Government had not come in with its vacuum cleaner and its cheque book to clean up these State houses I do not know what sorts of health problems we would have in New Zealand.