Parker DavidHon DAVID PARKER (Labour): I want to start by talking about the language that has been used in respect of the programme for the Government around housing that is referred to in the Estimates. This week we have had this controversy in the House where the Government turns up and says it is a comprehensive plan". That has been the language—it has obviously been out focus-grouping the language that it ought to be using. Crosby/Textor has come back with the word "comprehensive" and the Government has used it—no? The Minister shakes his head. Well it has got to the silly stage and there is even a video titled "National's Comprehensive Housing Plan" on the National Party website now and in every question its members are repeating the answer by rote. It looks foolish which is why the rest of the House is laughing at the National Government when it pretends that it has a comprehensive plan. I think it is somewhat sad that National tries to sort of fool New Zealanders that it has a comprehensive plan that is working when it patently is not. On the very day—today—that we have the Chilchot inquiry in the United Kingdom criticising the Blair Government because it took the UK into a war in Iraq as National would have done here on the back of loaded terms like—Hon Members: Ha ha!Hon DAVID PARKER: Well it did actually. You might laugh about it but your National colleagues tried to take us into the war—The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! I am going to interrupt the member. I have been relatively—[Interruption] The member will stand withdraw and apologise.Matt Doocey: I withdraw and apologise.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Trevor Mallard): I want to be very clear that we will not have interjections while I am on my feet. David Parker just to make it clear I have been tough on both sides—that we will focus on the Estimates. An excuse that the member was diverted by the Opposition or by the Government will not wash.Hon DAVID PARKER: Well loaded terms like "Operation Enduring Freedom" or the "coalition of the willing" or "comprehensive housing" should not hide the fact that the Government does not have an adequate policy funded in this Budget for housing. I want to say something in response to what Minister Smith said. He said the Government was insulating a lot of houses. Do you know what the Government did when it got into office? It cancelled the $1 billion fund that was proposed as a part of emissions pricing that was going to fund an even bigger programme for house insulation. The Government has done quite a bit of house insulation and it is a good thing that it has. It took the prior Government's programme and it has extended it but do not pretend Minister that that was not going to happen and that it is somehow your innovation. The Government says that interest rates are lower. Interest rates that house buyers and mortgage payers have to pay in New Zealand are higher than they would be but for the out-of-control housing prices in Auckland. Yes interest rates around the world are lower than they were a decade ago. But they would be lower still in New Zealand and we would be closer to international averages if house prices were not so high which is one of the reasons why the Reserve Bank of New Zealand keeps interest rates higher than it otherwise would. In respect of earthquake issues and the housing issues the Minister just made reference to the fact that there are challenges getting enough staff in the building and construction area. When the earthquake struck Phil Goff and the Labour Party were out of the blocks saying "First thing you should do is train more people."Hon Dr Nick Smith: We did.Hon DAVID PARKER: The Government did not no. The Government did not. You waited 2 years before you made any substantial start on training more work force. Minister you sat on your hands for years before you did anything about that and as a consequence we are reliant on more imported labour. You know there is nothing in these Estimates about the housing problems that we have got in the provinces. In some parts of the provinces we have got needs for urban renewal. We are sick of hearing in the provinces that all of the problems lie in Auckland. There are problems in Auckland that the Government has not got under control but the rest of the country has got problems too. In parts of south Dunedin for example there is very old housing very cold housing a low accommodation supplement and high heating costs. There are a lot of people down there who find it very hard to meet their housing costs but there is no plan from the Government to address any housing issues except in Auckland. Indeed it sells down State houses in the other parts of the country and it does not address private rental issues either. It has got so bad that there was this cartoon in the Otago Daily Times this week. It shows a great big person who looks like Mr Creosote and he is depicted as Auckland with the Government's $1 billion housing infrastructure plan as the pie in front. A big fat Auckland is shown and it says: "I'll let Tauranga Hamilton Christchurch and Queenstown lick the plate". Then the rest of the country has got a plate thrown at them in the face. That is how the pie is distributed they say. That is how the rest of New Zealand feels as a consequence of what the Government has got going wrong in housing policy in Auckland. It is not a good thing for our country. You saw what happened when you got jealousies between London and the rest of Great Britain; you got "Brexit". You get people outside of London voting against—those sentiments are being borne in New Zealand out of the Government's poor housing policy."