7. Question No.7—HousingHon KIERAN McANULTY (Labour) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No.7—Housing7 Hon KIERAN McANULTY (Labour) to the Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement that The Government has made a deliberate choice to reprioritise low value expenditure to more important policy priorities"; if so does he consider the provision of transitional housing places "low value expenditure"?Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order. Mr Speaker please will you read that question very very carefully again because it simply doesn't make any sense. Read it.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Speaking to the point of order.SPEAKER: Just a minute. I do as I'm told—I'll read it.Hon Kieran McAnulty: I could read it slower for him if he wants.SPEAKER: That's very good of you to make the offer. These questions are considered by the Clerk's Office when they're lodged. I have just read it and I think it's pretty clear what he's asking.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Mr Speaker could you please explain to me—SPEAKER: Are you speaking to the point of order?Rt Hon Winston Peters: —this is a point of order—because with "if so does he consider the provision of transitional housing places 'low value expenditure'?" how does that make any logic grammar and any other way common sense as a question?SPEAKER: Well we shouldn't get into a discussion about the grammatics of those things but it seems to me that the statement is " 'The Government has made a deliberate choice to reprioritise low value expenditure to more important policy priorities'; if so does he consider the provision of transitional housing"— Hon Hon Member: Places.SPEAKER: —to be low value places.Rt Hon Winston Peters: No he didn't say "be". He says "places".SPEAKER: Oh OK. You're very clever—I got that "places" word—but I think we understand the question so we'll go ahead. I'm calling the Hon Tama Potaka. Hon TAMA POTAKA (Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing)) on behalf of the Minister of Housing: As the Minister said yesterday in this fine House this Government in Budget 2024 are about tough decisions. This Kāwanatanga will make deliberate choices to fund high-priority Kāwanatanga commitments. Transitional housing is one way which a warm dry home is provided to people—Kiwis—in urgent housing need and will remain an option accordingly.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Was Bill English's review into Kāinga Ora paid for out of funding allocated to the provision of transitional housing?Hon TAMA POTAKA: On behalf of the Minister of Housing the review of Kāinga Ora was funded by a forecast underspend of transitional housing for the current financial year and there is no impact by this decision to transfer an underspend of transitional housing on transitional housing numbers.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Can he confirm that it costs between $6000 and $8000 for a transitional housing place for three months?Hon TAMA POTAKA: On behalf of the Minister of Housing it's a little bit fuzzy math and I'll accept a written question on that matter. Hon Kieran McAnulty: Why was he willing to sacrifice up to 83 transitional housing places to pay for Bill English's review when that funding could have come from any other allocation?Hon TAMA POTAKA: We're not going to get into the mathematics of transitioning places but what we can say is that there was an underspend on transitional housing over the last year—unlike the serious overspend that the previous Government has made leaving 3000-plus kids in emergency housing and 25000 households on the social housing register.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Was Bill English at any point considered for the role of chair of Kāinga Ora?Hon TAMA POTAKA: On behalf of the Minister of Housing I am unaware of that matter."