2. Question No. 2—HousingCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 2—Housing2. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by her statements that KiwiBuild is alive and well" and that "Since Labour took office at the end of 2017 it's been one of our government's top priorities to fix the housing crisis"?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): I stand by the full statement: "Since Labour took office at the end of 2017 it's been one of our government's top priorities to fix the housing crisis we inherited. We're making good progress but the problems caused by decades of under-investment in housing infrastructure National's gutting of public housing and failure to build more and no action on growing affordable housing was never going to be fixed in a few years. The reality is it's going to take more time." In regards to KiwiBuild: yes. So far 1365 KiwiBuild homes have been built for Kiwi families and another 856 are currently under construction. I note that the previous National Government delivered over a hundred affordable homes in nine years through the special housing areas. I also note that the statements come from a column I wrote correcting inaccurate comments about the Budget—errors the member himself replicated in written parliamentary questions this week. Chris Bishop: If KiwiBuild is "alive and well" after just 1365 homes have been built after four years what would she define as seriously unwell verging on dead?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: One hundred affordable homes over nine years by the previous National Government.Chris Bishop: Has she seen the statement in 2012 by Labour Party candidate Megan Woods: "National are talking negative on kiwibuild. This crowd would've told Mickey Savage that he couldn't do it … well he did and so will we" and doesn't reaching just 1.3 percent of the original KiwiBuild target show that this Government has failed?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Although I have no ministerial responsibility for Labour candidate Megan Woods I do put our record of 1300 families living in affordable homes over 4½ years against the 100 National delivered over nine long years any day of the week.Chris Bishop: Why has the Government removed or sold more State houses than it has built this financial year?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I'm very pleased the member asked this question. In order for us to do the once-in-a-generation build of State houses that we are doing we are redeveloping the suburbs that we own. We have added over 9000 new public housing places since we took office: 7000 of those are new builds—and these are net numbers. If we look at the gross number of houses that have been added in 4½ years it is over 13000. I put that against the record of the National Party in Government who finished office with 1500 fewer houses than they started with because they'd flogged them off.Chris Bishop: Why after four years of so-called State house - built growth is the Government demolishing or selling more State homes in this year than it is building and when is she going to take some accountability for four years of failure?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I realise that member comes from a party where they need a 101 on how to build State houses but in order to intensify on areas that you own you do demolish houses. You build back more—that is exactly what our Government is doing. We have made a commitment to build 18000 new State houses by 2024 and this is more than any Government since the 1970s. The member is wrong.Chris Bishop: Why has the State house waiting list blown out to 27000 people a quintupling of the wait-list number since Labour came into office; and when will it return to the level it was in 2017 or—better yet—zero?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The reason why we are seeing the State house wait-list grow is because we do not have enough State houses because when in office National not only failed to build State houses; they sold off State houses and—as I said in a previous answer—ended up with 1500 fewer than they started with. If National had built at the rate that we have and not flogged off our State houses we would have nearly 20000 more State houses than we have today. When will we get to the end of that—when will we cure the waiting list? When we make up for the damage that National did in Government."