Goff Phil: Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Goff Phil: Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:18454] 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Defence) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Housing 
: I move  
That the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill be now read a second time 
. In doing so I would like to thank the chair of the Local Government and Environment Committee Moana Mackey and members of the committee for their hard work on this bill. I would also like to thank all of those who made submissions on the bill. The committee considered 78 submissions on the original bill and the considerable thought and effort put in by the submitters and the committee have helped to improve the bill. The majority of the committee recommended that the bill be passed with some amendments. 
This bill provides new powers to enable territorial authorities to increase the supply of affordable housing in their area. The bill fits in with other work that the Government has undertaken to improve housing affordability in New Zealand. The way that territorial authorities use the powers in the bill will vary across the country depending on local affordable housing needs. International and New Zealand experience shows that the new tools will be effective in helping territorial authorities to achieve a range of goals such as housing essential workers on modest incomes. 
The bill is enabling rather than mandatory. Only those territorial authorities that want to need to develop an affordable housing policy. The bill requires a territorial authority to carry out a housing needs assessment so that it has a clear picture of housing needs in the area before using the powers provided in the bill. Based on that assessment a territorial authority can develop an affordable housing policy that sets out how it will respond to local housing needs. Territorial authorities must consult their community before adopting any housing policy. 
The bill will prevent the use of covenants on land or property titles where one of a covenant’s purposes is to stop the provision of social or affordable housing. Such covenants unfairly discriminate against some of our most vulnerable people. There was unanimous support for that clause by the select committee which recommended a slight change that will strengthen it. 
As the bill’s policy objective is to provide a workable tool for those territorial authorities that elect to develop affordable housing policies the select committee has endeavoured to ensure that the concerns of local government are reflected in the suggested amendments to the bill. For example the select committee has simplified the requirements of the bill by removing clauses that duplicate provisions of the Local Government Act and also by replacing six separate clauses with one simple clause regarding the process for developing and implementing affordable housing policies. The bill has also been amended to be more closely aligned with the Local Government Act. 
Those territorial authorities that would like further guidance on and assistance in using the powers that will be available under this legislation following its enactment can contact Housing New Zealand Corporation which will arrange for them to receive appropriate advice and information. 
This bill balances the need of the community for affordable housing with developers’ needs for consistent and predictable planning guidelines and with the property rights of individuals. The bill promotes housing choice by ensuring that a range of housing types tenures and costs to meet the needs of moderate-income households are being included in new developments. I commend the bill to the House.