Cosgrove ClaytonHon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour): It is an interesting point that keeps being made in the Christchurch press that when you look at the average house price in Canterbury for this year in the last 4 months it has increased by about 2.6 percent to $482000. Other speakers have commented in respect of the degree of affordability of that but the point that is made in respect of Christchurch which the Government may wish to take heed of is that there has been a cooling and a slow reduction in the level of increase of average house prices across Christchurch and Canterbury. This is because as has been reported over and over and over again we have a flurry—and we will eventually I suspect if you look at forecasts have a glut or a surplus—of houses within the region. Hence if you go back to good old School Certificate fifth form economics when supply exceeds demand you have a stabilisation if not a decrease; a slowing of an increase in house prices.The moral of that story for Government members is that you can achieve those economic goals by one thing: building more houses. It is an extremely simple proposition. It is one that is debated every night on the news and every day on the radio and that is commented upon every day in the newspapers but it is something—I think that there is some sort of mental blockage for the Government or the Minister for Building and Housing in respect of this point. The only way you are going to deal with the housing crisis—right through the country but especially Auckland—is to build more houses. The issuing of consents the issuing of compliances or as we have heard special housing areas—those things in themselves do not put roofs over people's heads certainly not in the short term.The evidence in Christchurch and the evidence that is flowing through this bill is that the flurry of building or the excessive building activity that has happened has actually cooled those house prices to some extent. The question is well made by speakers though as to whether $450000—when an average house price is $482000 on latest figures—is affordable for many folks many of whom have been through the earthquake crisis and are still trying to reconstruct their lives and move into new housing. I want to look at the regulatory impact statement—page 3 paragraphs 17 and 18—which talks about this very point and notes that nationally just 5 percent of new supply is targeted; that is housing targeted at the lower quartile. One of the bonuses of this project is that the targeting in the lower quartile in affordable homes is around 30 percent which is pretty positive given the 5 percent figure nationally.It is worth congratulating as I said in my first contribution on this bill the Riccarton racing club and those members who brought this proposition to the House. As I said in my first contribution this was not a proposition that found its genesis on the Government benches or in the Cabinet room of this Government; it was a proposition and an idea that found its genesis in the innovation of local community stakeholders particularly the Riccarton racing club itself and was brought to the Government as a positive idea and a positive contribution that will provide a substantial number of houses and affordable homes for those in Canterbury. But I have got to say that if you were to look at the debate as it happened last week I think and subsequently you would think from listening to those Government members who have spoken that this was some sort of brainwave of Nick Smith or some sort of innovative strategy launched by the Crown. It was not. Credit should go where credit is due.As other speakers have said and have referenced in respect of infrastructure particularly the previous speaker clause 9(c)—the requirements that the scheme contain its own infrastructure in respect of the development—is silent and Government members have been silent. I am sure the Minister of Local Government who is in the chair will be interested in this point as he is wont to focus very heavily on local authorities and the needs of local communities: there has been relative silence around the infrastructure requirements that will be required in this part of Christchurch.As I said in my last contribution I spent the early years of my life one block away in Yaldhurst Road across from the Riccarton Racecourse. In those days it was a slippery sleepy area. On Yaldhurst Road you would struggle to get a traffic jam. Getting to Hornby was relatively easy. Going down Johns Road to the airport or heading to Belfast was a pretty simple proposition. That is no longer so not simply because in the Johns Road area the four-laning is happening; it is simply because of the quantum of traffic the industrial developments that have happened in Hornby that have necessitated further traffic. So it cannot be the case as other speakers have said that you plonk 600 houses in a residential area and nothing changes. Of course there will be changes. There will be issues around congestion. There will be issues around traffic flow. There will be issues for that local community. There are very small roads and small access ways around the racecourse hotel and the little businesses that are there. They are going in and accessing through to Hornby. These are needs that will have to be dealt with not only by the local and regional authorities but also I would hope with the assistance of Government.It would be helpful if the Minister in the chair Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga—I am pleased he is in the chair given his portfolios—could perhaps assist us with the aid of his officials in giving us some assurance as to what infrastructural support the Government will provide around this project. What you have got here is a very positive project: Genesis Energy and the local community the Riccarton racing club bringing it to Parliament; Parliament giving it the stamp of approval; and the Government then generally being silent apart from trying to take credit for many of the proposals in this legislation on what its contribution may or may not be.That area right through Avonhead through Merrin right out as I said to Johns Road going right up to Church Corner; that whole area will be impacted by—what is it? It is about 2.5 people on average per house according to the official statistics. So you are looking at a couple of thousand people in theory in that concentrated area. It is a very good proposal—something that I think Parliament should be proud of; something that local folks and local stakeholders have put a lot of time and effort into and have brought to Parliament. But that project will need support. I would hope that Minister Brownlee and other Ministers—the housing Minister transport Minister and other Ministers—are engaged with this very heavily so that we do not end up getting a really nice property development that meets multiple needs including housing affordability needs but unfortunately then has a knock-on effect through the local community because infrastructure does not follow development; that Government commitment does not follow that development.So the local folks are doing their bit. They have consulted widely. Other colleagues have talked about the concern that there was initially and I am sure that there are some residual concerns from many stakeholders in the community but I know having talked to many folks in that area that it is the infrastructure issues that are of deep concern to them. I think many of the issues around the development itself have been put to bed but what is the knock-on effect for that local community? I would ask the Minister whether he would mind taking a call perhaps or seeking some advice from his officials—or perhaps over the dinner break having a quick word to Minister Nick Smith and other Ministers or whoever is going to be in the chair following the dinner break—to allay some of those concerns that people have raised.The Riccarton racing club and that piece of dirt is an iconic piece an iconic institution in Christchurch and it has been the scene as other speakers have said of some wonderful events not just fantastic race days for the community but also its facilities and its grounds have been the focal point for a large number of community activities right throughout the year. There are none more successful I suppose than the Riccarton Market which has become a real focus and a real focal point not just for those who run the market and those who produce the goods and services but also for the community as a whole.