Doocey Matt: Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDoocey Matt: Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 18 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5896. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri): It is a pleasure to rise to speak at the first reading of the Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill. I do not believe for one second that that member Phil Twyford actually believes in what he just said. Can I quote Mr Twyford? Mr Twyford said: “Tenants with high and complex needs may be better off being transferred to a community housing provider …”. I do not believe for a second that the member Phil Twyford believes in what he just said. Mr Twyford said: “What does this bill do? It shifts housing stock out of the hands of Housing New Zealand into the community housing sector. This is something that … Labour is perfectly comfortable with …”. So it was all right back then you were comfortable with it then but not now.If I can I would like to go back to that period up to the election in 2014 to think about the pledges that the parties gave in campaigning and to think about the mandate this Government has with this policy around social housing. If we look at our National Party pledges the first one was to free up land for new sections. I know that in my electorate we have done exactly that. With the Land Use Recovery Plan we have been able to free up land which has increased supply which has equalled demand. When you look at statistics like annual house price inflation New Zealand has 7.5 percent Canterbury has 5.5 percent and “Waimak” has 3.5 percent. We are the third-biggest district in the South Island—we have just overtaken Invercargill—and we are the third fastest - growing electorate by population yet we have only 3.5 percent annual house price inflation. That is because like I am referring to our housing policy going into the election was about freeing up land for new sections.The next pledge was about keeping interest rates low. We know that we have some of the lowest interest rates in 50 years.Tracey Martin: What’s that got to do with State housing?MATT DOOCEY: Well I am getting to that. I am getting to that. The third pledge was about introducing the KiwiSaver HomeStart package which we have done. That is three out of three.Tracey Martin: State housing?MATT DOOCEY: Stay with me—three out of three. And here we move into the fourth pledge: to reform the social housing sector facilitating a shift from State housing to a range of new social housing providers. We pledged our housing portfolio and our promises we got the mandate from the New Zealand people at the last general election we are sticking with it and we are delivering it unlike Mr Twyford who says what he wants and then backtracks on it. What we have done is we have clearly set out that path at the election and at the first opportunity that we have had to deliver it in Budget 2015 that is exactly what we have delivered: social housing reforms. The reforms allowed an extra 3500 New Zealanders to gain access to housing and provided extra wraparound services for vulnerable Kiwis who will get extra support around education training employment mental health and alcohol and drugs to support them into independence on top of the Support for Children in Hardship Bill. The list goes on because what we have done is we have stuck with our promises. The people of New Zealand trust us and have confidence in us to deliver what is right for the people and that is exactly what we are doing because we listen to people we care for them and we are the working peoples’ party.When you look at statistics from Housing New Zealand at the moment when you look at one-bedroom houses there is a 25 percent demand with only a 9 percent supply—25 percent demand; 9 percent supply. When you look at three-bedroom houses there is a 24 percent demand with 43 percent supply. You can see where there are big houses there is only a small number of people in them and the housing is not meeting the demand. It is about the right house for the right people at the right time in the right location. That is what we are working towards—a systemic approach.If those members talk about housing they may want to talk about the Red Army. They are not talking about the Chinese and they are not even talking about the Canadians. It is the reds under the bed. They go to bed every night holding their copies of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx under their pillows dreaming of the 1950s the 1960s the 1970s and of State intervention. They are going to bed with great dreams of State intervention as if they have forgotten about the revolution of the liberal market economy. That is where we are. We are in a mixed economy of care—a mixed economy of care where we have private provision Government provision community provision and NGO provision. It is flexible and it gives people choice because what we do on this side of the House is we back communities. We believe in big communities and to all those innovative community organisations: we believe in you. We are here to support you and the aspiration you provide for your tenants to give them vision and to give them hope.The Social Housing Reform Programme—when you look at some of the statistics 3650 people assessed as high needs are waiting to be on the list for social housing. It is not working. Things had to change and it is right that they are. I am proud that I am part of a Government that is sticking up for people and putting people first. That is what this is about. Thirteen hundred tenants from Housing New Zealand have applied to transfer to better houses that suit their needs. A third of Housing New Zealand properties are in the wrong place and are the wrong size. The tenants are becoming more complex. A third of them are sole parent families with children. Over 20 percent are over 65 years old. What we need to do is think through with community housing providers about how they provide new innovative ways to support the complex needs of their tenants.What we know is that we will be looking to transfer 1500 houses with existing tenants and tenancies as part of this mandated bill. When we look at the regulatory impact statement it outlines clearly two options. Option one is to ensure that the Crown has the authority to transact Housing New Zealand Corporation’s stock by means of a new asset transfer provision. The preferred legal mechanism is a transaction mandate. That is exactly what this bill is about: a transactional mandate. Option two is to commence the programme underneath the existing legislative framework of Housing New Zealand. The regulatory impact statement came back for this bill about the transactional mandate and said: “There is no or minor impact on tenants as a result of selecting one option … Option one provides benefits to potential bidders as it provides certainty that the transfers can proceed.” It showed that if we had gone for the impact analysis on option two it would not have worked.What we know is that at the end of the day the Social Housing Reform Programme has a range of objectives. The first objective is ensuring that people who need housing support can access it and receive social housing services that meet their needs. I have already talked about the statistics of the range of bedroom numbers that are not meeting the needs of the people on the waiting list. It is also about those people who need wraparound services: employment training and education. What we are trying to do is move people into independence. We know people benefit from being independent. They become productive members of society. It is not only about getting them into employment; it is about getting them into independent housing. It is a great bill and I commend it to the House. Thank you.