Copeland Gordon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Copeland Gordon: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 February 2007. Volume:637;Page:7662. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3.  
GORDON COPELAND (United Future) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: Does he agree that there is a mismatch between the supply of and demand for land for new housing in New Zealand? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 In some cases land supply may not have kept up with demand but the evidence is mixed. It would be foolhardy to suggest that simply freeing up more land will solve our housing affordability problems. Freeing land for speculators and large expensive housing developments will not solve the affordability question. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Can the Minister understand the despair felt by many of today’s young families about ever owning their own home when they hear stories from their parents of how during the 1960s 1970s and 1980s young families while still in their 20s were able to buy a new home because entire areas such as Wainuiomata and Newlands in Wellington and entire suburbs such as Hillsborough in Auckland were subdivided and a section could be purchased for little more than 1 year’s salary; and was not the original intention of the Resource Management Act to make the process of subdivision easier not harder? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I can understand those concerns by people wishing to purchase their first home. I could also of course remind the member that a lot of vacant land was within the metropolitan urban limit at that time. Our city of Auckland of 1.4 million people sprawls over one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world with one of the lowest densities. To consider opening up more land compounds the question of infrastructure roads sewerage transport etc. 
Lynne Pillay 
: What is the Government doing to increase the supply of land for housing? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: We are doing lots. We have funded research into local housing markets to reveal all the factors in play. We have developed new mixed housing estates which offer both affordable and social housing—for example at Weymouth Papakura and Hobsonville. We are working with local government to assist it to encourage the development of affordable housing such as the proposal that the Queenstown Lakes District Council is currently consulting on. 
Phil Heatley 
: Does he stand by his statement that “housing affordability is an issue preoccupying hundreds of thousands of young households around the country.”; if so is he really going to build hundreds of thousands of houses for them at Hobsonville or elsewhere run equity schemes for hundreds of thousands of lucky families or provide hundreds of thousands of State houses for every last one of them as his solution and is it welfare that these young families are really looking for? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: Housing affordability is certainly something that is exercising a lot of people much of it concern for children and grandchildren. Many of those children and grandchildren through employment and saving will of course meet their own housing needs. Some people particularly in high-value markets such as Auckland will face challenges and that is why the Government has brought in things such as the Welcome Home Loan scheme and next year of course we will be developing a pilot in shared equity. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Bearing in mind the Prime Minister’s statement last night about housing supply will the Government be involving Treasury in a comprehensive economic evaluation of the relationship between planning and other restraints on the subdivision of land for new housing and the cost of land with the clear goal of ensuring that the dream of homeownership can once again become the norm for today’s young families? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: We already have officials working on a variety of streams of work—for example the shared equity programme and the Hobsonville development—where we are addressing these questions. I remind the House again that this is a complex issue; every Western country is facing it particularly in major metropolitan areas. 
Gordon Copeland 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I specifically asked whether the Government would involve Treasury and that was not in any way referred to in the response. I doubt whether the answer really addressed the question. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Does the Minister wish to add anything? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: The member may not be aware but every paper that goes to Cabinet is given a close scrutiny by Treasury. 
Phil Heatley 
: I seek leave to table a document that states that the Minister of Housing acknowledges that hundreds of thousands of young households are struggling with affordability and he is going to build houses for them all. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? 
Hon CHRIS CARTER 
: I seek leave to submit a document from a speech to the Property Institute by the former leader of the National Party Dr Brash that states that National will renew its 1990s programme of selling off State houses. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Would members please be quiet when the question is being put otherwise members will be leaving the Chamber. There is objection.