Ngaro Alfred: Social Housing Reform (Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Amendment) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeNgaro Alfred: Social Housing Reform (Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Amendment) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 16 May 2013. Volume:690;Page:10114. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ALFRED NGARO (National): I am proud to take the final call in this first reading around the Social Housing Reform (Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Amendment) Bill this morning. I first of all just want to quote from the Housing Corporation Act 1974 on one of the key functions of the corporation. Section 18(2) states: “The Corporation’s functions include—(a) providing rental housing principally for those who need it most:”—for those who need it most. I just want to say that in acknowledging all the contributions those who are opposing this bill and those who are supporting this bill at the end of the day we all agree that where there is need and for those who need it most we should meet that need. We have been holding each other accountable about the things we have done in the past but we are now in the present and heading into the future.What our communities want to hear is what this bill will do to make a difference. It is really clear when we have gone out into our communities. I was over at the Māngere Housing New Zealand office meeting with the new team leader there Stacey Herbert. We talked about the issues and the challenges.I went out to Monte Cecilia Housing Trust over at Māngere. We went out to some of the boarding houses. We began to see some of the challenges that they were facing. I know and we know that the needs are there. What this bill is trying to do is this very thing: it is not trying to kick people out it is not trying to say that if you have got a need that we will not meet that; what it is doing is in one sense providing for those who need it most. There is a waiting list there. I talked to Stacey Herbert and there are many who are in great need who cannot access those homes—the very homes and the very needs that the Opposition is talking about.So what will this bill do? Well the reviewable tenancy provision inside this bill for all tenants means that those who do not need those homes can now move on to provide for those who do. That is the simple fact of what it is trying to do. We have been accused of being the right-wing Tories the people who do not care for people. In fact they have called us the rich to the poor while many of us if not all of us have come from backgrounds where we have had to make a living and work hard to be where weare at today. We know what it takes—we know what it takes. For those on the Opposition who may not have read it there is a report calledHome and Housed. It is a vision for social housing in New Zealand. What it clearly says is this: “Shelter is one of the most basic human needs but a home is much more than the place where we hang our hat:”.In 2009 there was an accommodation review an opportunity to see those who could move on. Around about 2500 tenants were actually reviewed and researched. They were asked whether they could afford the income threshold to meet the opportunities for homeownership. Out of 2500 only five were able to afford that. So what do we do then? Do we then allow them to stay where they are? No what we want to do is provide opportunities. Those who were on the Housing Shareholders’ Advisory Group included people like Alan Jackson who was the chair; Major Campbell Roberts from the Salvation Army; Andrew Body who is a director of Crown Fibre Holdings; Martin Udale an independent consultant in housing; Diane Robertson the head of Auckland City Mission; Brian Donnelly the executive director of the New Zealand Housing Foundation; and Paul White from Torea Tai Consultants. All of those people work in communities and some of them are part of the Salvation Army and this was their recommendation: that we should have reviewable tenancies for all tenants—for all tenants.Moana Mackey: But you’re not you’re doing 17 percent.ALFRED NGARO: I want to finish off with this Mrs Mackey: we act with common sense. We are not going to go out and kick people out on to the streets as you have said.Moana Mackey: You are.ALFRED NGARO: We do not. Why? Because we know—I know the community that I work with. I know the people who are there. That is the not the intent of this. What this is for is to give people the sense of hope of a future of an opportunity. We know about transience. In my community I have worked in we have seen the impact that it has. But here is a greater thing Mrs Mackey: what about the opportunities for homeownership for those who are transient? What about the opportunities for them to do better for themselves to stop true transience?Moana Mackey: You’re not doing anything about that.ALFRED NGARO: I commend this bill and I look forward to its hearing at the Social Services Committee. I hope that Mrs Mackey will second herself on to the committee and we will have a robust discussion because at the moment we have not heard a lot from some of the other Auckland MPs. We look forward to that. I commend this bill to the House.