Twyford Phil: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 13 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5806. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū): Earlier in this estimates debate we talked about the Prime Minister’s cynical comment that Auckland homeowners are happy about becoming wealthier because of skyrocketing house prices. It is so clear from those comments that that is the reason why this Government has done nothing substantive or serious about the Auckland housing crisis. All we get are public relations - driven half measures. We talked about the spectacular failure of Nick Smith over the last few years to do anything about increasing the supply of housing in Auckland to the extent that the housing shortage is getting worse to the tune of 5000 houses every year and the Productivity Commission is projecting a shortfall of 60000 by 2020.But there is so much more to talk about in the housing area. After the Government has denied for years that the rampant property speculation in Auckland has anything to do with the fact that house prices are going up on average by $500 a day we saw just before the recent Budget what this Government so often does: deny deny deny there is a problem and when the focus groups start to show up a bit of public concern it wheels out a grudging half measure. And that is exactly what the Budget announcement on the so-called 2-year test and the brightline test to try to catch a few speculators is.That policy is basically like hunting speculators with a very small butterfly net and John Shewan one of the Government’s most respected tax advisers came out within days of that announcement to say it will not do anything to rein in house prices in Auckland and it certainly will not catch very many property speculators. Meanwhile this Government is completely at sea on the question of a foreign buyers’ register. We have had four different statements—from the Prime Minister from Nick Smith from Louise Upston and from Steven Joyce—all saying different things. In fact I think that Louise Upston was the most candid. She said that it is not a foreign buyers’ register it will not be public and it will not tell us the information that is needed for this debate. Well I say good on the Minister for at least being candid with the public because I cannot say the same for her colleagues.This Government is completely in denial about the effect of property speculators including offshore money in the Auckland housing market. It is totally in denial about it in spite of the fact—amazingly for the Government—that the polls say that in the order of 70 percent of New Zealanders want to see a register of foreign buyers. It is good enough for David Cameron who is saying that a fully accessible and searchable register of foreign property buyers is a priority for his Government in the United Kingdom. It is good enough for David Cameron and it is good enough for the centre-right Federal Government in Australia which has the same policy. But this Government will not go near it. All it has done is promise a very weak very diluted attempt to gather a little bit of data on foreign buyers. It is completely in denial.The Australian policy which also happens to be the New Zealand Labour Party policy is a ban on foreign buyers buying existing houses. Foreign buyers are currently responsible for channelling billions of dollars of investment from China into new builds. Apartments in Sydney and Melbourne are being put up like there is no tomorrow and they are almost all funded by offshore money. That policy of a ban on foreign buyers is a sensible policy that is working. Steven Joyce has been going around saying that it is not working and that it has been a failure. He has been flatly contradicted by experts in Australia who have said that actually the Federal Government in Australia is completely committed to the policy and is toughening it up. In the state of Victoria they are jailing foreign buyers who rort the rules. Meanwhile this Government denies it is even a problem.Let us talk about another aspect of housing policy. I want to say what an excellent speech it was by Metiria Turei about warm dry homes. All I want to add really is that the Government’s announcement in this area was yet another grudging half measure. The public want to see mandatory standards for rental accommodation to make sure they are warm and dry. They want to see insulation standards. They want to see heating standards. But what does Nick Smith do? He allows landlords who have avoided taking advantage of the generous taxpayer subsidy for the last few years a 4-year grace period and very weak standards.