Twyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 17 November 2015. Volume:710;Page:8166. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social Housing: Is she embarrassed that families are living in cars?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Minister for Social Housing): No but I do not think it is acceptable for people to be living in cars and that is why the Government is pursuing a social housing reform programme to increase the number of social houses.Phil Twyford: Will she commit to a nationwide strategy to end homelessness properly resourced with houses and the funding for support services to help people get their lives back on track?Hon PAULA BENNETT: That is simply what we are doing with our social housing reform programme.Phil Twyford: Is she seriously describing the current policies and funding commitments as a nationwide strategy to end homelessness?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I certainly am and I certainly also see it as a way to make sure that we are looking after New Zealand’s most vulnerable not just in homelessness and those going into State houses but equally in affordable housing—making sure that people have opportunities on the housing continuum from $2.5 million in just the last few months on emergency housing through to 20 percent social housing on Crown land through to a number of other measures that we take seriously.Phil Twyford: When almost half of our homeless are children how can she justify allowing so many of them to remain on the streets?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I am not justifying anything. What I am saying is that we have a social housing reform programme that is seeing success that we need to have more of it that it is unacceptable for those children to be living in those circumstances. If you take Auckland alone you have got a population increase of around 40000 in just the last 12 months. As we know the building of new homes is not keeping up with that population increase. However we are seeing a record number of building consents since 2009 and we are equally seeing more than 800 houses for Housing New Zealand contracted out and under construction just in the next 12 months.Phil Twyford: Is she ashamed of the fact that if National stopped its State house sell-off and used the 2000 vacant State houses it would be enough to house the homeless but she just does not have the commitment to do it and if she is not ashamed of that why—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The question has been asked.Hon PAULA BENNETT: I think it is good that we get a few facts on the table. Housing New Zealand houses are at the highest occupancy they have ever been at at 98 percent. Equally with those 2000 houses that are vacant we have—Phil Twyford: 1000 fewer on your watch.Hon PAULA BENNETT: Can I just give you some answers because you are asking the question. Three hundred and twenty-two of them are vacant because of meth contamination. We have also reduced the vacant turn-round times significantly: from the 50 days that it used to be to an average now of 34 days. We are doing the work that needs to be done because the member is the first one to say that these houses are cold and need to be refurbished. So between the vacancies we are actually refurbishing them and doing exactly what is needed. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I say to both members that if they want to have a further conversation go to the lobbies.iqsPaparoa National Park—Pike River Memorial Track