3. Question No. 3—Housing (Public Housing)CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing)Question No. 3—Housing (Public Housing)3. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): How many people are on the State housing waitlist now compared to September 2017 and has she received advice on when that number will return to the levels of September 2017? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing) on behalf of the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): I am proud of this Government's public housing build programme the largest of any Government since the 1970s. Since 2017 more than 9000 new places have been delivered across New Zealand and 7300 of these are new builds. The national housing crisis we inherited meant that there simply aren't enough houses. While we are starting to see progress we are dealing with the failure of the previous Government to build houses. Not only did the previous Government not build enough houses for the 5844 people on the waiting-list; they ended up with 1500 fewer public homes across both Housing New Zealand and the CHPs than they started with. The 2017 wait-list did not reflect the real need and while it will take some time to repair the carnage wreaked by the previous National Government we are committed to rolling out our record public housing build programme. If the previous Government had built at the same rate as we are building there would be over—Chris Bishop: Point of order Mr Speaker. I think we're now up to 45 seconds to a minute of the answer; we are yet to hear anything related to the actual question. It's a very straight non-political question and the House is entitled to expect a concise answer. DEPUTY SPEAKER: It's unusual for members to interrupt during the answer to a question saying that it's not being answered when one should probably give the opportunity to hear the answer. But seeing as it's been raised I disagree with the member. There are aspects within what the Minister has said which do actually address the first part. It doesn't completely address it so far but I look forward to hearing the rest of it. Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Thank you. So just where we left off: it will take some time to repair the carnage wreaked by the previous National Government but we are committed to rolling out our record public housing build programme. If the previous Government had built at the same rate as we are building there would be over 22000 more public houses in New Zealand today accounting for over 80 percent—DEPUTY SPEAKER: And I should have added—Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: —of the—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry to interrupt but I should have added that she should do that a bit quickly. Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: —OK I'm just finishing—accounting for over 80 percent of the 26868 on the current waiting-list. Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order Mr Speaker. I'm sure that when you review the tapes later this evening—as I know that you do—looking at the answers given by the Minister you'll find that there were a number of assertions in that which are very wide of the Standing Orders. Now if in fact your ruling today is that it stands and it's OK and it's fine will that also stand in the mirror Standing Order which is to do with asking questions where the Opposition could make all range of those similar sorts of assertions without any documented proof or otherwise in a question to a Minister? DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah I do want to acknowledge what the Hon Gerry Brownlee is saying and I should really have pulled up the Minister. I was listening very carefully for the answer and it took a while so my advice to the Minister is to get there a lot more quicker and to the member asking the question to wait for the answer. But I will have a look at it and I will come back and let you know what I think about it. Chris Bishop: Why did Kāinga Ora build only one net additional State house in the first quarter of 2022? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: If we have a look at the builds that Kāinga Ora has done across the 2021-22 financial year there are 546. But because we are a Government that is committed to an ongoing building and redevelopment programme we report these figures as net so we also subtract off there the houses that we demolish to make way for even more public houses that we will be building. Chris Bishop: Why did she say she was proud of Kāinga Ora's progress on building when in the first quarter of this year Kāinga Ora built just one net additional State house in New Zealand?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I'm proud of Kāinga Ora's record on State house building. We have added over 7000 new-build houses since we have been in Government. We are only beginning to repair some of the carnage wrecked by the previous National Government in the area of housing. But what the member will not understand because his party fails to understand is that in order to redevelop and build houses you have to tear down the ones to redevelop the area.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Before I give the question to Chris Bishop the number and level of interjections are so much that I barely heard the answer. Interjections about mental health and other things not even related to the question are really out of order.Matt Doocey: Oh they're all areas of failure.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Doocey you are lucky I was not on my feet. Chris Bishop: Thank you Mr Speaker. Did she agree with official advice at the time about the impact of removing interest deductibility on increasing the housing register and would she accept that that advice has been proved right and she has been proved wrong?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: This is a topic that has been traversed many many many times in this House. The advice the member is referring to was advice that was given in December of 2020 for Ministers to consider over summer. We considered that advice over summer and of course we came back and what we did is that we said interest deductibility should pertain to new builds. This is why we are seeing a continuation of the building consents that we are seeing. So as a Government we took means to mitigate that advice.Hon Chris Hipkins: Is the Minister aware of any examples where Kāinga Ora previously Housing New Zealand demolished a whole lot of State houses and then didn't build on the land where the houses had been demolished and instead passed that on to private property developers and under which Government did that happen?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I'm afraid that if I went through the list of examples under the previous Government where that happened the Speaker would sit me down. [Interruption]DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Thank you. Can I continue?DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. We'll go on to the—Chris Bishop: Supplementary?DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well you can both sit down. Look if the member is asking a question and the noise is to the level that I can't even hear the Minister's response then it's an absolute waste of time even having the question answered. Chris Bishop: Supplementary?DEPUTY SPEAKER: You want another supplementary?Chris Bishop: Yes please.DEPUTY SPEAKER: I'd advise members behind you to be quiet. Chris Bishop: Mr Speaker thank you. I'll just say we're very excited to see you in the Chair Mr Speaker and so I just encourage—supplementary. So in light of that answer to my previous supplementary is it her position that the removal of interest deductibility does not have an impact on the State house register?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We have gone over this many many times in this House—that what we are seeing is a continuation of an increase of supply because as a Cabinet we listened to the advice that said that we needed to put in place mitigation around ensuring that we had continuation of supply come on board. My opinion of what contributes far more to the growth of the State house wait-list is that the previous Government ended up with 1500 fewer public houses than they started with. That includes those held by CHPs and then Housing New Zealand. Not only did they flog them off but they did not build them—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! That's enough.Chris Bishop: Isn't it the case that this Government has now been in office for four and a half years and it's about time they stopped blaming the last National Government for the utter ineptitude they have shown on housing that means 4000 kids are growing up in motels?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: What it's about time is for us to remind New Zealanders that we are a Government that has added over 9000 public housing places in the time that we have been in Government. I will have put this against the 1500 fewer than they started with of the previous National Government. Kids have ended up in motels because that party failed New Zealand in housing.Hon David Parker: Does the Minister blame the last Government for the doubling of the number of houses being built in Auckland under this Government or is she willing to take credit for this Government?DEPUTY SPEAKER: No that's out of order.