5. Boarding Houses—Operation and Condition of PropertiesPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Building and ConstructionBoarding Houses—Operation and Condition of Properties5. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Building and Construction: Why did he allow slum boarding houses like 43 Church St Ōtāhuhu and 454 Great North Road Grey Lynn to be operated year after year housing tenants in unsafe and unsanitary conditions before finally sending in the inspectors?Mr SPEAKER: As I call the Hon Dr Nick Smith I note that my office has been advised this answer may be longer than normal.Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Construction): Our Government—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! It would be a shame to see one of the junior whips being asked to leave the Chamber. Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Our Government is taking a tougher line on substandard boarding houses than any previously. We passed a new law last year setting up a new Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team that enables for the first time the ministry to directly prosecute landlords. The team is working closely with councils which also have regulatory powers over boarding houses. I have confidence in the work of the new team. Prosecutions are under way for cases involving over 200 tenancies including boarding houses. I note that three boarding houses have been shut down today as a consequence of joint work with the Auckland Council. I can confirm that both houses in the question are under investigation but I am reluctant to comment further for risk of interfering in the judicially independent prosecution process. Phil Twyford: Is he satisfied that sending in the inspectors only when there is a complaint or a media report means that the vast bulk of slum boarding houses will never be dealt with because most tenants are simply too afraid to complain and probably assume that the Government is fine with these slums because they were probably referred there by Work and Income in the first place? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I note that the boarding hostel the member refers to at 454 Great North Road Grey Lynn has been operating for over 25 years. In the 9 years that Labour was in Government I am advised there were many complaints and Labour did absolutely nothing. We are actually a Government that has passed the law that has given—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! There is simply no point in continuing with the answer if the Opposition does not want to hear the answer.Phil Twyford: Supplementary question Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: I hope the members are interested in this answer.Phil Twyford: Does he think that so many people would have been forced into slum boarding houses on his watch because they could not find anything better if the Government had not reduced the number of State houses by 2500 and instead of taking $1.8 billion out of Housing New Zealand had spent that money building 5000 extra State houses?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There are so many falsehoods in that member's accusations that I could spend the entire afternoon—let us go through them. This Government is spending more money on housing support through the social housing budget and for the accommodation supplement than any Government and ironically members opposite voted against the substantial increases in the accommodation supplement that would help many of those families. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am just not sure of the point in carrying with supplementary questions when I cannot hear the answer and clearly some of the members here are yelling so loud that they cannot either. Can we have a little more cooperation from one or two members to my left.Phil Twyford: Is not the sight of our most vulnerable citizens including children living in filthy rat- and flea-infested slums without toilets sometimes even without glass in the windows the ultimate indictment of his failed housing policies? [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No. In fact I am very proud that it is this Government that has chosen to actually set up a Compliance and Investigations Team to go after those slum landlords that there are over 200 cases in the pipeline being prosecuted as a consequence of that law change and that there is a further bill before this Parliament to further strengthen its powers. It will be interesting what members opposite do because every time we bring legislation to this House to improve housing they vote against it.