Shanks Katrina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Shanks Katrina: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:655;Page:4582] 
9.  
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: What decisions have been made recently regarding opportunities available to tenants of State houses? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 I am delighted to say that from September tenants will be able to purchase their State house and we will be reinvesting the proceeds into a replacement State house for someone on the waiting list. Most of the State houses will be new builds. This will be a win-win-win situation. Someone goes into home ownership someone comes off the waiting list and into a new State house and a building company gets to build it stimulating the economy. That is great news. 
Katrina Shanks 
: Has the Government given any thought to what assistance tenants could receive throughout this process? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: We have given a great deal of thought to it and we believe that the Welcome Home Loan package could give loans to those people who want to buy their State house. However the caps on those loans are limited to $280000; we are looking at the possibility of raising those caps. We are also looking at some assistance towards the valuation and the conveyancing fees for the purchaser. We want people to go into home ownership if that is what they want to do. 
Katrina Shanks 
: What effect will that have on the State housing stock? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: Quite simply I have made it clear to Housing New Zealand Corporation that every house sold will be replaced with a new home for another family on the waiting list and the emphasis will be on new builds. But the really good news was in the Budget where we announced that 550 new homes would be built to the end of the current financial year and another 1000 over the next 3 years. That means an increase in the number of State houses State house tenants moving into home ownership more people coming off the waiting list and the building sector stimulated. 
Moana Mackey 
: If the Minister is so concerned about Housing New Zealand Corporation waiting lists why does he not give the OK this afternoon to build 500 State houses in Hobsonville? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: We have made it clear—and we did before the election—that the Hobsonville land was strategically more useful for other types of development. What we are doing is increasing State houses in areas of need. 
Katrina Shanks 
: How is this different to what has been undertaken previously? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: Interestingly properties have always been bought built leased and sold under previous Governments. In fact even though the previous Labour Government increased the numbers of State houses it sold 811 of them in the process and it never offered one to a State house tenant. What a measly disgraceful— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is not the Minister’s position to comment. He can report on the policies of a previous Government; it is not his position to comment on them. 
Moana Mackey 
: Will the Minister guarantee that a State house sold in an area of high housing need will be replaced by a new State house in an area of high housing need and not a house on the outskirts of town or indeed in a completely different city? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: The policy of Housing New Zealand Corporation providing houses in areas of high need will continue. That has always been the case. It will continue under this policy as we increase State house numbers move people into homeownership get people off the waiting list and stimulate the economy through the building and construction sector—and good on the National Government for that. We are doing more for State house tenants than that lot opposite ever did.