Heatley Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Heatley Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:631;Page:2991] 
9.  
PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: Does he have confidence in the Housing New Zealand Corporation’s management of its housing stock? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 Yes because in the past year the Housing New Zealand Corporation has allocated houses to 10000 families it has upgraded more than 2000 houses to make them drier and more energy efficient and it has added more than 1000 State homes to the housing network to meet demand and because since July 2003 more than 1500 tenants have been moved to smaller more suitable houses freeing up homes for larger families on the waiting list. 
Phil Heatley 
: Why has the amount of damage done by Housing New Zealand Corporation tenants risen by a staggering 75 percent this year compared with last year up from $6.9 million to $12.1 million with a good part of this financial year still to go? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: Social housing always presents any Government with challenges but I am proud to say this Government is working very actively to provide decent homes for all New Zealanders. 
Georgina Beyer 
: Prior to 1999 was any programme in place to upgrade older State houses for modern living—for example ensuring kitchens could accommodate basic appliances like fridges? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: No; disturbingly it appears that there was no programme in place under National. It took the Labour-led Government to introduce one in 2001. Since then 2618 properties have been modernised—an example of the good stewardship occurring under this Government of the State’s second-largest physical asset. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How many more houses would the Housing New Zealand Corporation management be managing were it not for the fact that a National Government under Murray McCully engaged in the wholesale sale of them; and is that not a reason for me to report the outcome of today’s question time as to the results side by side to the SPCA? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I do not understand the second part of the question but the Hon Chris Carter can answer the first part . 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. When are you going to ask a member of Mr Peters’ standing and long experience actually to ask a question that is reasonable? Time after time you either turn his question down or in fact ask that part of it be left out—in other words not answered—which does indicate that there are aspects of his question that fall outside the Standing Orders. Will there not be a time when you simply say the question cannot be answered? I would have to argue that that question was extremely thin in its relationship to the primary question. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: The first part of the question seemed to me to be within the Standing Orders and as I have indicated the Minister should address just that part. It is not for the Speaker to comment on the quality of questions whether primary or supplementary questions—just to make sure they are within the Standing Orders. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I can report to this House that under the National Government 13000 State houses were sold. Less than one-third of them were sold to tenants and most were sold to speculators who made a great deal of money out of them at the State’s expense. 
Phil Heatley 
: Why has the amount of damage done by Housing New Zealand Corporation tenant guests risen by a staggering 73 percent this year compared with last year—up from $1.5 million to $2.6 million—with a good part of the financial year still to go? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: The member seems to be confusing damage and repairs and adding the figures together. What he is doing is trying to distort the figures that the Housing New Zealand Corporation has provided to him. 
Phil Heatley 
: What is going on at the Housing New Zealand Corporation; the clientele has not changed and by the Minister’s own admission the number of properties has gone up by only 2 percent yet tenant damage and guest damage are set to double this year compared with last year—why are they getting so out of control? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: The member makes a number of allegations that are manifestly false. He says for example that the number of State houses has gone up by only 2 percent; in fact this Government has added 6000 houses to the housing stock. What I can say is that the Housing New Zealand Corporation— 
Phil Heatley 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: —which has been the repository of over $2 billion of Government spending— 
Phil Heatley 
: Point of order— 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: —since 1999 is working very hard to provide— 
Phil Heatley 
: Point of order— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am terribly sorry; I could not hear over the barrage. 
Phil Heatley 
: In the Minister’s answer to the first question he said that the number of State houses had gone up by 1000 this last year. I referred to the number of houses going up by not more than 2 percent in the last year. There are about 60000 houses and 1000 is certainly less than 2 percent. The Minister then abused me in the House saying I have not got my facts correct but they are laid out right before us—the number of houses did not go up by 2 percent in the last year and vandalism is up by 75 percent. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I am not sure what the point of order was but would the Minister please address the question. If we could have a little less rowdiness then we might be able to hear the answer and maybe that confusion would disappear. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: As I said in my initial answer the Government has added almost 1000 houses in the last year. That might be only 2 percent of our existing total but 1000 houses is an enormous investment. I would like to remind the House again that Mr Heatley seems to be confusing repairs with damage. He is adding both figures together to give a distorted amount of money. 
Phil Heatley 
: What ramifications will Maryan Street’s damage insurance bill which forces landlords to insure tenants for damage caused by their guests have for this country’s largest landlord the Housing New Zealand Corporation? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I just note that the Minister has no responsibility for a member’s bill but if there is a general— 
Phil Heatley 
: It is the impact on the Housing New Zealand Corporation. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: It is the impact. That part of the question is in order. Would the Minister please address just that part. 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: The bill has not been passed yet so we are still working through at the moment theoretical policy. But we are of course looking at it. 
Phil Heatley 
: As the Housing New Zealand Corporation owns 15 percent of all rental properties will not its atrocious performance at curbing vandalism drive up the insurance premiums—I am talking about Maryan Street’s bill—for every mum and dad landlord renting out a house? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: That remains a very theoretical point. What I can say is that the Housing New Zealand Corporation is engaged in a very active programme of enhancing and modernising the housing stock which I remind this House again is the State’s second-largest asset. 
Phil Heatley 
: I seek leave to table the Housing New Zealand Corporation vandalism bill for last year and its vandalism and damage bill for this year to date—not repair bill but damage and vandalism bill. 
Leave granted.