5. Question No. 5—Housing and Urban DevelopmentHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Housing and Urban DevelopmentQuestion No. 5—Housing and Urban Development5. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Does he stand by his statement that homelessness is likely to get worse before it gets better"?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Housing and Urban Development): Yes. Hon Judith Collins: Does he accept comments this morning by the Salvation Army that KiwiBuild is too unaffordable to address the growing level of homelessness?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The Salvation Army has once again highlighted the extent of the housing crisis that this Government inherited. And no matter how successful our Government is at driving down build costs reducing red tape and making KiwiBuild houses affordable for many New Zealanders who would love the opportunity to have a crack at affordable homeownership a mortgage of $300000 or $400000 or $500000 will simply be out of reach. That is why we are working on a shared equity programme that will give New Zealanders the opportunity to—people who otherwise would not be able to afford to—through a shared equity programme have a smaller initial mortgage that over time they will have the opportunity to pay off and buy out the equity share of. If we're successful in doing that a much larger group of New Zealanders will have the opportunity to have a crack at affordable homeownership.Hon Judith Collins: Why is he allowing high-income couples who earn $180000 per year to buy KiwiBuild homes when this may mean that low and middle income earners will miss out?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well our policy with KiwiBuild is that until supply of new KiwiBuild homes matches demand we're going to ballot those houses because balloting is by far the fairest and easiest way to do it. Under the policy settings of the former Government who refused to build affordable homes low-income families were forced to compete in the market against better-off families. They had no chance of affordable homeownership. Under our policies they will have a chance.SPEAKER: Does the member want to take a point of order?Hon Judith Collins: Yes I would thank you Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Well I get it.Hon Judith Collins: Thank you.SPEAKER: Does the member want to repeat the question? Hon Judith Collins: Yes sorry Mr Speaker. Yes I do.SPEAKER: It's probably the easiest thing. Repeat the question.Hon Judith Collins: Thank you Mr Speaker. Why is he allowing high-income couples who earn $180000 per year to buy KiwiBuild homes when this may mean that low to middle income earners will miss out?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well for a start I reject the premise of the member's question—that allowing a broader range of New Zealanders to take part in KiwiBuild will disadvantage lower-income families. More important than that the member needs to understand that after nine years of allowing the housing crisis to spin out of control young New Zealanders professionals in good jobs earning good money even earning $150000 to $160000 cannot afford to buy their own homes under the housing crisis that you left us.Hon Judith Collins: Does he agree with the Salvation Army that the basic problem we have is that "the rental market is on the collapse"?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: No I agree with the Salvation Army when they say that years of failed policies have killed the dream of homeownership and put huge social stress on low and middle income New Zealanders and we need radical change and that's what this Government is delivering.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Having regard to the level of sincerity in the questions today about the housing affordability why has the Government changed its policy?Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'd invite you to reflect carefully on that question. The Minister has no responsibility for any intentions behind the questioner's motives.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Speaking to the point of order my question is for an explanation as to why the Government has changed the housing policy it inherited. It's very simple Gerry.SPEAKER: OK I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to ask the Deputy Prime Minister to ask the question again without the preface.Rt Hon Winston Peters: That was the best part but I'll summate by asking the Minister of Housing and Urban Development as to why it was that the new Government changed the housing policy that they inherited.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: We changed our policies because New Zealanders believed in and voted for a Government that would first accept that there is in fact a housing crisis and that would accept the fact that policies need to intervene in the market to deliver decent housing for ordinary New Zealanders. For nine years they put up with a Government that refused to intervene that refused to build affordable housing that refused to make houses warm and dry and that refused to change the tenancy laws to deliver more security of tenure.Hon Judith Collins: Does he then agree with the Salvation Army that has said today "It might evolve that KiwiBuild does little more than replace the market as a source of new housing for higher-middle income households."Hon PHIL TWYFORD: No I don't agree with that quote but I am highly amused to see the new friend of the poor sympathetically quoting Alan Johnson from the Salvation Army. I never thought I'd live to see the day."