Twyford Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:11976. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—TeAtatū)to theMinister of Housing: How many homes does he believe will be built as a result of the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Bill and what percentage of those homes will be affordable?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Housing):Many thousands. The Auckland Housing Accord provides for 39000 homes over 3 years. The accord specifically allows conditions of consent for qualifying developments to require a proportion of homes to be for first-home buyers or to be in the affordable range but these conditions would be set by council. The Government has successfully implemented such a requirement with 20 percent in Hobsonville but is actually achieving 26 percent. I note that the proportion of affordable houses built dropped from 16 percent in 2000 to 6 percent in 2008. I am confident that the Government’s initiatives will reverse that negative trend.Phil Twyford: What does he say to the Property Council Todd Property Group the Salvation Army and the Auckland Hamilton Waikato and Tauranga city councils which all told the Social Services Committee that they do not believe that the bill would result in any affordable homes being built; and will he keep blaming councils when his housing policy fails to deliver affordable housing?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I simply point the member to Hobsonville where this Government is building thousands of homes and is specifically requiring a portion of those homes to be affordable. But I am not going to take a lecture from the Labour Party when the proportion of affordable houses dropped from 16 percent in 2000 to just 6 percent in 2008.Phil Twyford: If the council follows the processes in the Auckland Housing Accord and the number of houses agreed to by the Government is not delivered will he take personal responsibility for the failure of his policy and will he step down as Minister?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I note that there is a strong increase in the number of houses that have been built both in Christchurch and in Auckland. I note that the Auckland Council is delighted with the deal that we have been able to achieve with this Government to get more houses built. I also ask how many members opposite are taking responsibility for the hard facts that when Labour became Government 16 percent—Phil Twyford: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked whether the Minister would take responsibility if the targets in his policy and his accord are not reached. He has not even addressed that.Mr SPEAKER: You went further than that though. You asked whether he would take responsibility and if particular targets were not reached whether he would resign. I think a yes or no answer to that is unlikely to be delivered. The Minister has chosen to deliver the answer that he has.Phil Twyford: Did he admit to the select committee that there was no way of measuring the success of his bill; if so how will he know whether to blame the council for the failure to meet the targets as will inevitably happen?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Every month the number of building permits is published and so we will know—not just in Auckland but around the country—although I note that in every month this year there has been an increase in the number of building permits that are being issued. The target sets out an ambitious target of 39000 houses. But what the Labour Party cannot stand is that this Government is working effectively with the Auckland Council to address the issue of housing that it ignored for 9 long years.Brendan Horan: What specific steps has the Minister taken in the 15 days since he last answered a question from me to ensure that in Auckland there are sufficient townplanners tradespeople developers and funding to cope with his promised threefold increase in houses to be built?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I would simply point to the many initiatives that this Government has taken. A key feature of the Budget was our housing reforms the special housing areas accords the social housing legislation—Brendan Horan: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was quite specific. I asked what specific steps the Minister has taken.Mr SPEAKER: And the Minister is attempting to answer it. If the member would stay seated and listen to the answer I hope he will then be satisfied.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: We have two major bills before the House one on the housing accords and special housing areas as well as the social housing legislation. The main grizzles I am getting from members opposite are that we are going too fast in getting this legislation through to make a difference rather than the complaints we now hear from one of the members of the Opposition that we are not going fast enough.Brendan Horan: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I still did not hear any specific steps that the Minister is taking.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member needs to listen more carefully to the answer.Brendan Horan: Will the Minister acknowledge that his promise of 39000 new homes consented in 3 years represents an extra 50 new homes consented every working day and can he tell the House just how many new homes have been consented in the 39 working days since the Budget?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: It is a bit rich for the Opposition to be criticising the effects of legislation that has not yet been passed and that members opposite are opposing.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is not my normal habit to defend that member up there but on this particular occasion he asked a hard but straight and factual question and I do not think that even he deserves that abuse at this point.Mr SPEAKER: I thank the member for his point of order. I invite Brendan Horan to re-ask that last supplementary question.Brendan Horan: I take offence at “even he”.Mr SPEAKER: Then I will attempt to help the member on this occasion. He asked: if there are going to be 39000 new houses built it is 50 a day and how many consents have been issued in the 39 working days since the Budget.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The measures that the Government has announced in the Budget are being advanced as quickly as possible through the select committee process. I would ask the member to support the good work of that select committee and support that bill through the House so that we can build more houses and create those special housing areas. But I further note that this year already each month we have seen an increase in the number of building consents granted.