Bennett Paula: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBennett Paula: General Debate[Sitting date: 25 May 2016. Volume:714;Page:11254. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Housing): Just for anyone who was watching that was Mr James Shaw. He was pretty much saying if I sum it up in one sentence that New Zealand would be a better place if only it were not for the people—damn the people damn the businesses damn anyone who—[Interruption] And damn the cows. Damn anyone who—Richard Prosser: And the birds.Hon PAULA BENNETT: And damn the birds—no they like the birds. What we hear of course from members of that party is that it is kind of easy to sit there and make all of those grandiose statements and then not actually have the means to put them into play or to raise the kind of revenue for the kind of spending that they would like to do. And of course it is all rubbish.What we have got from this Government instead is of course the kind of pragmatic and fiscal responsibility that is actually driving this country forward. We see rising wages all the time. Middle New Zealand is doing better than ever before. We are seeing an increase in jobs that is pretty outstanding and things are really moving along there. As you can see we are getting 40 houses a week built in Auckland alone. In Auckland alone there are 40 new houses a week. There are 17 new social houses coming on board in any given week. In any given week on average the Ministry of Social Development places around 134 tenants and their families into social housing. Yes there have been changes. There have been changes in the way that we place those people where they are and how long they are there for: the right person in the right place for the right duration and at the right price.Yes we have introduced tenancy reviews. I heard the Prime Minister mentioning them today. I heard the Opposition and the uproar about how dreadful it is that we might be moving tenants out of their social housing even though they are paying market rents and even though more than 10 percent of them—more than 10 percent of them—have gone on to purchase their own homes. In respect of those we spoke to about paying market rents and about the need to free up their houses for someone who is more needy than they are more than 10 percent of them have gone on to purchase their own homes. This is not surprising when you have got numbers like—what was it—12000 families going into their first homes through KiwiSaver HomeStart grants. That is outstanding. That is 12000 families that have had their lives turned round. A portion of them have moved out of social housing and into that kind of homeownership. That ladies and gentlemen is aspirational.Yes just a week ago we announced $41.1 million more going into emergency housing. We wanted to step in for some of those operators who were saying they were going to have to close their doors unless they got certainty of funding. Anne Tolley and I also announced the special-needs grant and the fact that you could see that too many were having to borrow. That is simply unfair. The computer systems and the technology that were needed behind it meant that it was not going to be available until 1 September but what we can announce today is that from 1 July we can start doing some of those things manually to make sure we can give those grants at that point.The other thing we have talked about today which I think is quite important is relocating people out of Auckland. The reality is that we have got quite a lot of people who have said voluntarily—and it is voluntary—that they would like to live in other parts of New Zealand. We see it for people who are not in social housing. They are making the decision to move to some of our fabulous towns and cities around the country—Hon Anne Tolley: Like Gisborne.Hon PAULA BENNETT: —like Gisborne says the Minister from Gisborne—and understandably they want to move. I think there are people who are in social housing right now who want to move but who do not have the savings or the means to actually do it. So today we have made the announcement that they can get a grant of up to $5000 depending on their circumstances the size of their family and how far they are moving. They can get that kind of assistance to move out of Auckland and into the regions. Some will have retired and will be looking at other opportunities in other parts of the country. Others may or may not be looking for work. There is quite a cross-section there. It is voluntary and I think that is really important—before the naysayers all get too upset about it.The world does not stop and start at Auckland. We have got a wonderful country and we are opening up those sorts of opportunities for people—making them available. You might ask where. A quick TradeMe search tells me that in Whangarei there are over 50 houses available to rent. You can get accommodation supplement assistance of up to $120 a week which makes it quite affordable for those who are in those circumstances. There is always more we can do but this Government is making a huge difference for our most vulnerable.