Swarbrick ChlöeCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green—Auckland Central): Housing is a human right and more than that adequate housing is a human right. National members may be interested to learn that this not some new-age wokeness" or whatever the latest culture war - baiting buzzword is.We signed up to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Humans Rights drafted and passed without dissent by the UN General Assembly. The UN was created of course after some of the world's most devastating wars and atrocities in hope of creating peace by enforcing basic standards for member nations and their people. The succeeding 70 years though saw basic tenets of that contract broken however as elected representatives sacrificed the goals of our shared security and prosperity in favour of individual greed and gain. We instead saw the gaming of the system to procure untold wealth for a handful of people at the expense of a large transient population around the time that we were signing the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights around 70 years ago. In Aotearoa New Zealand that wealth comes in the form of owning houses—in many instances multiples of them.Housing or rather human rights—and housing it turns out—is for everyone. You don't get human rights only if you are good if you wear a nice suit to an open home or if you don't complain about the mouldy bathroom for fear of being kicked out of your rental. You have human rights because you are human. That is kind of the point. Rights are not meant to shift and change with whoever is in power changing the definition of who is worthy and who is not. We all have these rights regardless of whether we rent or own our home.The Government has a duty to protect the human rights of all of us to adequate housing. Despite how much less oxygen it's given than it deserves in our Parliament and we gave it a real good thrashing attempt tonight as desperate leaders try to evolve polling numbers with fearmongering and culture wars our material reality remains the biggest concern for most of us.The Minister herself actually spoke in her contributions earlier tonight on how adequate housing and secure housing is the basis of good mental health. Of course that was reflected in He Ara Oranga the mental health and addiction inquiry. If we do not have a safe stable home it is very difficult to build the basis for a good life.An off-air chat with a talkback radio host cemented for me what most politicians would prefer to keep dishing out: the sugar high of "whataboutism" than play—to continue with the metaphor—the stoic dentist rectifying generations of neglect and enforcing healthier new behaviours. We don't need UN Special Rapporteur Leilani Farha's report tabled in February 2021 in Geneva to know that housing in our country has long been treated as a speculative asset instead of a home; the core ingredient to upholding that human right. Along with renters' rights rent freezes and regulation Farha suggested courageous tax changes to transform our economy from "A housing market with a few bits [tacked] on" as defined in a 2011 tweet from a former Labour backbencher MP now of course the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern.In 1997 the UN Committee on the Economic Social and Cultural Rights defined "adequate housing" that human right by breaking it down into seven standards. Of course this was referred to in the departmental disclosure statements. We are so obviously failing on the first basic four that is security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; and affordability; that even paying heed to the final three services materials and infrastructure; location; and cultural adequacy feels farcical as has been kind of demonstrated in this debate tonight.All of us agree that we've got to build more homes and in this thematic space in this debate—in the many debates that we've had in this Chamber over the past five years that I've been here—we have seen consensus on that although not necessarily on where those homes should be built. However what it seems that we are most unwilling to civilly discuss—again perhaps reflected in this debate tonight—is whether we are comfortable to continue treating housing in Aotearoa as a game of Monopoly.We have to acknowledge that this crisis of adequate housing this human rights crisis didn't come from nowhere but from a series of decisions made by successive Governments. We can't continue to side with and consult only with those who profit from the status quo and somehow expect that that is going to result in representation of the needs of those who are not currently benefiting from it.DEPUTY SPEAKER: One of the needs of this House is for you to talk about the bill at some stage. You've had five minutes now so could you just start to steer towards the actual bill itself.CHLÖE SWARBRICK: Mr Speaker if I may this legislation is about the healthy homes standards.DEPUTY SPEAKER: We're also talking about the bill tonight too. So at least have some reference to it please.CHLÖE SWARBRICK: Mr Speaker the bill—DEPUTY SPEAKER: This is not a general debate speech. Let's just talk about how it relates to the bill please.CHLÖE SWARBRICK: The departmental disclosure statement makes explicit that there is consideration of international treaties—DEPUTY SPEAKER: The bill—the bill.CHLÖE SWARBRICK: —with regard to the legislation and the bill that we are debating tonight and that is core to housing or adequate housing as a human right.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Relatively narrow bill—let's just talk about the bill.CHLÖE SWARBRICK: All right Mr Speaker. My written questions from earlier this year show that the Government has no idea how many private rentals are currently up to scratch when it comes to healthy homes standards nor does it know how many landlords have excluded themselves from verifying or reaching those healthy homes standards nor does it know how many companies are holding themselves out as capable of verifying those healthy homes standards. This is not a recipe for a system that works for anyone.The Greens have continued to call for a warrant of fitness and that is of course reflected in the Cabinet minutes and documents that have been released proactively throughout this debate. We have seen that these effectively voluntary healthy homes standards are not working for far too many people. The Government now seems intent on restarting the clock.So the question that we'll leave with the House tonight is: who does that benefit? It's not the 1.5 million New Zealanders who rent in this country that Statistics New Zealand show are more likely to spend more of their income on inadequate mouldy housing. In fact it is only the landlords and Kāinga Ora and the property managers who the Government chose to consult with throughout this process.The Greens oppose this legislation because we have well-canvassed throughout this debate tonight that it delays the human rights that all New Zealanders are entitled to.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The time has come for me to leave the Chair. The House is suspended and I will resume the Chair at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Good night everyone.Debate interrupted.Sitting suspended from 12 midnight to 9 a.m. (Thursday)"