King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 24 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3813. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
12. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: Does he agree with Canterbury District Health Board medical officer Alistair Humphrey that cold damp and overcrowded housing in Christchurch has “contributed to general sickness”; if not why not? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 Yes. It is widely recognised that there is an association between poor-quality housing or overcrowded living conditions and a greater risk of some infectious diseases not just in Christchurch but anywhere. That is why the Government has seen over 160000 houses insulated to date and also why the Housing New Zealand Corporation will have insulated every State house where practicable by the end of next year as well as having commenced a significant reconfiguration of the State housing stock portfolio to make sure we have got the right-sized houses in the right condition in the right places in New Zealand. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does he stand by his statement that there is no housing crisis in Christchurch; if so would he change his mind if he read the recent report from the Canterbury District Health Board which said the shortage of rental houses has worsened in recent months and people with mental illness physical disabilities and terminal illnesses are struggling to find accommodation and it is now a major issue? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: Well the member might like to drum up the idea that there is a crisis. The reality is that there are housing challenges in Christchurch. That is why there is a rebuilding programme that is why the Housing New Zealand Corporation is upgrading its State housing stock and that is why the Housing New Zealand Corporation is looking at redevelopments in order to build another 250-350 houses in Canterbury. We need to address these challenges. We recognise that they are there and we are doing the work that is necessary. 
Hon Annette King 
: Has he seen the report last week from KidsCan a welfare organisation funded by the Government which states that people in Christchurch are living in one room in damp and mouldy houses which is ideal for the spread of disease and that children are now suffering from poverty-related illness; and should not such a report make him rethink his statement that there is no housing crisis in Christchurch? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I have seen a number of reports and probably the most significant one was when I first came into Government and discovered that many thousands of State house tenants in Christchurch and elsewhere were living in cold and mouldy houses. That is not restricted to just Christchurch. The fact of the matter is that the State housing stock was left in a serious state of disrepair and we have to insulate it. I think it is a shameful thing that Labour never insulated every— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Denis O’Rourke 
: What real evidence does the Minister have that there is no short-term shortage of affordable housing in Christchurch? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: Well I have never said there is real evidence to say there is no short-term shortage of housing in Christchurch. What I challenge is the Labour Party’s continual use of the word “crisis”—it does not matter whether it is housing or health or oil and gas exploration. Labour members sound more and more like the Greens every day and I cannot distinguish between them. 
Hon Annette King 
: What is the average weekly market rent in Christchurch according to the average weekly market rent report he receives each week and have rents gone up in Christchurch in the last 6 months? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I do not have that exact figure on hand but I am more than happy to pass it to the member if she puts the question on paper.