4. State and Social Housing—Homelessness and AvailabilityPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social HousingState and Social Housing—Homelessness and Availability4. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social Housing: Does she stand by her statement in relation to homelessness that we've got a demand and supply problem which we've been tackling for the last two years"?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Housing): Yes.Phil Twyford: How well is that going when the average Auckland house price has now reached $1 million average Auckland rents have gone up $3500 in the last 2 years and social agencies say that they have never seen homelessness this bad?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well what we have got is a comprehensive work plan where we saw more than $40 million of new money going into emergency housing providers alone; another $3 million that we have made announcements on in respect of the Housing First policy which will be rolled out in west central and south Auckland; and another $9 million that is going into Better Housing Outcomes where we are seeing tenants who are in both private rentals and Housing New Zealand in particular who are being evicted—and so we are trying to get in earlier to ensure that they are not. There is the Housing New Zealand supply pipeline where we see more Housing New Zealand homes in Auckland than we have had in the last 9 years—we have seen the number in Auckland increase. We are also seeing the announcement like today where we are seeing that community housing provider also increasing the supply that it has got.Phil Twyford: Does she agree with the Salvation Army which says that the Government has deliberately left thousands of State houses empty to justify selling them off?Hon PAULA BENNETT: No I do not—not at all. What we are seeing is a massive rebuild programme that is going on not just in Auckland but throughout the country where you can see examples of three Housing New Zealand houses being knocked down and then 13 being built on that same site. So we are seeing more houses being built. We are also doing a complete analysis of the pending sales throughout New Zealand alongside the housing register that is going up in different places. So anywhere with over 100 applicants on the waiting list or an increase of up to 40 to 50 percent then we are looking at it to make sure that we have got the right synergies there as far as getting houses to the people who need them.Dr Parmjeet Parmar: How will the $24.4 million in new funding for community housing providers that she announced today help to increase the supply of social housing in Auckland?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Growing the role of community providers is a vital part of that comprehensive plan for social housing in particular. We have had the Social Housing Fund which was very successful; the shoe fund; and today we announced another $24.4 million on top of the $120 million that was in this year's Budget. That means that we will be able to give a grant of up to 50 percent for new builds and also an additional 50 percent on top of the market rent for those who might be leasing. It will make a huge difference in getting some of those deals over the line. Phil Twyford: Why is she wasting time quibbling with her own Government's official definition of homelessness which was developed by the Ministry of Social Development Housing New Zealand and Statistics New Zealand and has now been adopted internationally—or are they all wrong and only she is right?Hon PAULA BENNETT: To be frank I do not spend a lot of time on that. Every day I am focused on getting more beds available for the New Zealanders who need them. That has been the key focus of this Government. We can see that supply coming through. We can see an increase in the number of emergency housing beds. In fact right now we have got a deal out there in purchasing a motel for more emergency beds in Auckland as well as another whole lot of initiatives including looking at community group houses. We are actually making sure that we are going to be looking at putting others into that as well.Phil Twyford: Does she believe that 69-year-old Lynette Haines of Tauranga who is renting a temporary cabin in a motor camp because she cannot find any affordable housing should be regarded as homeless or does she think that you are homeless only if people are stepping over you in the street?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I do not know those circumstances for that particular woman and as such where it would be. It is irrelevant. What she actually needs is a permanent home where she can get that kind of access. That is what I am concentrating on and that is what we are making progress on on this side."