Bennett David: Taxation (KiwiSaver HomeStart and Remedial Matters) Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBennett David: Taxation (KiwiSaver HomeStart and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 25 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2601. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East):This bill the Taxation (KiwiSaver HomeStart and Remedial Matters) Bill is something that is—there will be a lot of discussion around homeownership and—Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Tell us about markets again like last time.DAVID BENNETT: Yes well I will tell you about it. You might learn something as well. That is for the member over there who has no idea what it is actually like to run a business or do anything like that. The important part of this bill is around that tax credit that homebuyers will be able to access now. As many speakers have said it is a small amount of money compared with the purchase price but still when you are getting the deposit together any bit of money is very valuable. That is the whole point of the matter and it is why people would be wanting to take advantage of this piece of legislation.The wider context of this is that the Opposition parties are basically saying here that this is ineffective in addressing the homeownership issue. That is what the Opposition parties will be pushing along. But members of the New Zealand public realise and understand that the biggest cost they face in homeownership is actually interest rates—the interest rates on the property. I just want to remind New Zealanders of what the Opposition policy would actually give you in interest rates and that is 9 percent interest rates—9 percent. National’s policy gives you 6 percent interest rates—6 percent against 9 percent for the biggest cost that you will have in purchasing a property. That is the point that underlies all the arguments you will see from the left. Basically those members say that the homeownership issue can be dealt with by 50 members of this Parliament making certain decisions and then dictating how the market will operate.In the Labour case it is definitely a case where it believes that it can just go out there and wave a magic wand and build 30000 houses overnight—30000 houses that will not exist will not last and will not deliver for New Zealanders. The Green Party for example thinks that 30000 houses will just pop out of the sky—that you do not actually have to build them. The Greens think that they come from just talking in this House and they will sort of come about. The New Zealand First Party—I think that it thinks that 30000 houses—Stuart Nash: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I do understand that this is going to be a wide-ranging debate etc. etc. but actually I do think that the member talking about Labour’s policies New Zealand First’s policies and the Green Party’s policies is probably a little wide even in terms of a wide-ranging debate.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): Thank you. The member is quite right; the debate is wide-ranging. We are looking at all clauses together as one. Speakers so far have ranged across the gambit of those clauses—Phil Twyford: Were you going to say “rambled”?The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): I was about to say something I probably should not have—the member is quite right. So we will call David Bennett.DAVID BENNETT: Mr Chairman I am giving the context of the arguments that are made so that when New Zealanders are listening to this debate they will understand the context of the arguments that have been made. So it is very relevant. I know Labour policy is hard to talk about but I have tried my best to encapsulate what little policy it has.Looking at it from that perspective New Zealanders have a choice over how you deal with the homeownership issue. You can see that one side of the argument is that the Government itself can dictate the solutions the Government itself can build those houses and the Government itself will provide all those solutions. That has never been seen to actually work. It has never been seen to actually have been effective and it is something that is a dream that has come apart for the Labour Party and that was not voted for by the public of New Zealand.New Zealanders understand in terms of their homeownership that the biggest cost you will have is interest rates. This Government has dedicated itself to having strong economic management so that we are able to provide the economic environment that enables low interest rates. That is the crucial thing; that is important. Although we are talking about a small part of that deposit that will come through the tax credit it is a wider issue in regard to homeownership that has been debated in this House tonight and we will continue to do so through the rest of the debate. The ability to withdraw that member tax credit—Hon Clayton Cosgrove: How much?DAVID BENNETT: —up to $521 a year so—Hon Phil Goff: How much are house prices going up a week?DAVID BENNETT: What did you say?Hon Phil Goff: How much are house prices going up a week?DAVID BENNETT: Well under Labour they went up 96 percent in the 9 years that it was in Government and they went up 28 percent in the 4 years that National was in Government up to 2014. So 96 percent compared with 28 percent—that is how much they went up Mr Goff. Under your party they doubled basically and you did nothing about it. So it is a bit rich for you to come into this House and talk about house prices in that regard when you were in Government and did nothing about it—did absolutely nothing. So now it is quite rich for those members to come into this House and talk about it.