5. KiwiBuild—Cost Private Sector and SupplyHon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Housing and Urban DevelopmentKiwiBuild—Cost Private Sector and Supply5. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura) to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: How many houses will be built under the KiwiBuild programme?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Housing and Urban Development): We will build on average 10000 homes per year over 10 years. The KiwiBuild programme includes a larger faster ramp-up than the Christchurch rebuild. It's comparable in scale to the first Labour Government's State house building which went from 400 houses in the first year to 4000 in the third. That member would know these things take time if her party had built any houses.Hon Judith Collins: When he said in November 2017 that the Government would build 16000 KiwiBuild homes before the next election what did he mean?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: What I meant was that we would build 16000 homes in the first three years of the KiwiBuild programme—1000 in the first 5000 in the second 10000 in the third. That building programme—16000 in the first three years—kicks in when the $2 billion Budget appropriation takes effect on Budget day.Hon Judith Collins: So why did he tell Parliament last week that the Government would now build only 8000 KiwiBuild homes before the next election?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well it depends when the election is held but our plan is to deliver 1000 in the first year 5000 in the second 10000 in the third and 100000 homes by 31 June 2028.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: How will the private sector be involved in building KiwiBuild houses?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The private sector will be engaged in the building of KiwiBuild houses through the buying off the plans initiative which we're announcing today. Under this programme and we're releasing the tender documents very shortly KiwiBuild will be underwriting or buying off the plan houses—KiwiBuild homes—in private developments that would otherwise not be built. If the member knows the first thing about what's currently going on in the residential housing market she will know that there are many developments that are stalled or not happening because developers do not have access to finance.Priyanca Radhakrishnan: What interest has there been from members of this House in building KiwiBuild houses?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well we've had a great deal of interest from members of this House in the KiwiBuild programme and I want to acknowledge in particular interest from one member of this House who's passed on a developer in her electorate who would like to be part of the KiwiBuild programme. I thank the member Judith Collins for passing on that interest in the KiwiBuild programme.Hon Judith Collins: Perhaps the Minister would like to table that.SPEAKER: Order! I can't quite tell if that was a point of order or not. I think seeing as it was a letter that mentioned the honourable member there is an expectation now that it be tabled.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I seek leave—SPEAKER: No you don't need leave. It's just going to be tabled.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: OK.Hon Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I suspect the rule that you're referring to talks about official documents and an obligation on Ministers to table official documents. I think it would be somewhat of a stretch to argue that a letter from a member of the Opposition is an official document. It's not been produced by anybody official. However I think therefore the appropriate course of action given there is interest in this is for the Minister to seek leave to table it.SPEAKER: My view is that it is a document which is received in the official capacity by the Minister. He has it in the House—I have seen it—and therefore I think it is appropriate that it is tabled under that Standing Order. So it will be tabled.Document laid on the Table of the House.Hon Judith Collins: How many KiwiBuild houses has he built in his first eight months as Minister?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: We announced the other day at McLennan in the honourable member's electorate of Papakura that at McLennan we have stepped in to save a failing development that the private sector was unable to take up. KiwiBuild has moved in. We'll have 30 KiwiBuild homes completed with families moving in before Christmas. If KiwiBuild hadn't intervened at that point there would still be grass growing on those sections.Hon Judith Collins: Is the answer none?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Those buildings are not yet completed but I urge the member to stay tuned because there is going to be a procession of KiwiBuild announcements every week and after a few months I guarantee she'll be sick of hearing about KiwiBuild homes that have been completed.Hon Judith Collins: If the private sector is on track to deliver 127000 houses over the next four years as the Reserve Bank estimates how does he propose building his now 8000 KiwiBuild homes without taking carpenters electricians and plumbers from the private sector?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: The member should know that at the moment in the construction industry there is actually some increasing amount of capacity that's becoming available because financing constraints are holding up many developments. That's exactly the idea behind the KiwiBuild policy which is about intervening in a failed housing market that under that Government completely failed to deliver the affordable homes that young Kiwi families need.Hon Judith Collins: Would he like to take this opportunity to explain to New Zealanders why his 16000 KiwiBuild homes costing taxpayers $2 billion have now become 8000 KiwiBuild homes costing taxpayers $2 billion—in just eight months?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: We've always been very clear that the KiwiBuild programme will be ramped up over three years. The $2 billion capital kick-start that will be announced in the Budget will be spent approximately 20 times over the 10-year period. That is the most efficient investment that any Government could make in making affordable homeownership available to a generation of young Kiwi families which is the opposite of the touching faith that that Government showed for nine years in a market that completely failed to deliver the houses that young Kiwi families need.Hon Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Speakers' rulings 142(2) and 142(3) contain descriptions of what's deemed by previous Speakers to be official documents. The definition adopted by previous Speakers is much more narrow than the definition that you have just adopted. The last sentence of Speaker's ruling of 142(3) is: It must be of an official nature and written by a Government official in the course of the officer's official business." That's significantly narrower than the definition that you have adopted and I'm concerned that it does actually set a difficult precedent for the House if any correspondence between members and a Minister is judged to be official documentation.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I don't have it at hand but there's a Standing Order that makes it very clear that documentation used to attack a member of Parliament can be tabled in Parliament. There are other remedies for members. You've taken a pretty middle course here today which has seen it dealt with. It's quite clear that that question would not have progressed or been settled on by the Government if they did not have that letter. So it seems quite reasonable given it is part of authentication although not required for the question that it's tabled in the House as you have suggested. The other point I would point out to the Leader of the House is that Speakers actually do make rulings themselves without reference to the past.SPEAKER: Sorry I'm just going to look up the—[holds up Speakers' Rulings]. I think the member needs to consider the whole of the Speaker's ruling and the beginning of the Speaker's ruling is "An official document includes a document". It doesn't say that that is the only sort of document; it says "includes". I think if the member had read the Standing Order in full—Hon Chris Hipkins: Read the one above it.SPEAKER: I'm not going to read the one above it. I am going to give the Opposition two extra questions because a member's interjected while I'm on my feet. But my view is that where a document has been received officially by a Minister including by correspondence the author of the document has indicated that she has no objection to it being tabled and it is within my power to order it to be tabled; I have. Right—where were we at? We're at Question No. 6."