Ross Jami-Lee: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoss Jami-Lee: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 31 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:10096. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.JAMI-LEE ROSS (National—Botany) to the Minister for Building and Housing: What progress has the Government made in growing the rate of new house construction particularly in Auckland?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Housing): New home construction data out yesterday showed 2400 consents for February nationally—the highest February in a decade and the second-highest on record ever. In Auckland 787 new homes were consented in February—up 50 percent on February 2015’s 528. This rate was 300 a month when I became Minister and 200 a month when we became Government. The number of houses being built in Auckland has grown by 23 percent 22 percent and 30 percent over the last 3 years making it the longest and strongest period of building growth ever in history in Auckland.Jami-Lee Ross: What reports has the Minister received on the total value of residential and commercial building work currently under way in Auckland and New Zealand?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The value of total new buildings consented over the last year to February 2016 is $13.5 billion made up of $9.2 billion in the residential sector and $4.3 billion of commercial work. This total is the highest ever in both nominal and real inflation-adjusted terms and reflects the level of confidence that there is both in New Zealand and in the building sector. In Auckland the value of residential building work bottomed out in the global financial crisis at $1 billion per year but is now $3.4 billion per year and again this is the highest level ever of residential investment in Auckland in both nominal and real terms.Jami-Lee Ross: What do the latest figures show about growth in the building sector outside the main centres?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The level of building growth is well above Auckland levels in a whole number of centres throughout regional New Zealand. In Whangarei building consent numbers year on year are up 44 percent; Hamilton up 20 percent; Tauranga up 22 percent; Rotorua up 90 percent; Palmerston North up 40 percent; Wanganui up 50 percent; Ashburton up 20 percent; Queenstown up 41 percent; and Invercargill up over 20 percent. Regional New Zealand is also enjoying renewed confidence in the building and housing sectors and that is good news for our whole country.Phil Twyford: When does he expect to attain the levels of new builds achieved under the last Labour Government of 31000 new dwellings a year compared with his best efforts after nearly 8 years in office of only 27000 and by how many will he have to exceed the massive Labour new-build number to catch up on the 40000 home deficit that Auckland has built up under his watch?Mr SPEAKER: Order! Either of those two supplementary questions.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Firstly I would point out that in the last parliamentary term we built more houses than Labour did in its last parliamentary term. I would further advise him that the advice I have from Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment officials is that 36000 new homes will be built in Auckland in this term of Parliament. That is more than has been built under any parliamentary term in Auckland and substantially more than what Labour did. I would also point out that actually at the core of Auckland’s housing problems are the dopey planning policies of the previous Government which slowed down the supply of sections and contributed to the high house-price inflation. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! It was initiated by a very long question I might add.Phil Twyford: Does he agree with Bill English who confirmed to the House yesterday that despite all of the Minister’s exaggerated promises of hundreds of new houses on Crown land in the last Budget “none have actually been completed” and is such a stinging rebuke from a senior ministerial colleague of his ongoing failure—Mr SPEAKER: Order![Interruption] Order! We are now leading to a stage where that question is going to be ruled of order. The first part of the question can be answered.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member’s claims on what the Minister of Finance said yesterday are about as accurate as his figures on Chinese house buyers in Auckland—they are rubbish. What the Minister of Finance said yesterday is that in last year’s Budget we provided $55 million for my ministry to buy land to be able to provide new housing. We said then that it would take about 18 months for those houses to come on stream and we stand by that. What I find extraordinary is that we are building more houses in Auckland than at any time ever and the member still complains.