Pettis Jill: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Pettis Jill: Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:617;Page:13242] 
JILL PETTIS (Labour—Whanganui) 
: 
 I did not intend to take a call in the housing debate but after listening to David Carter the National Party spokesperson on housing talk about housing I felt absolutely compelled to. I have never heard such drivel in my life as I have just heard from Mr Carter. My colleague Phillip Field has just explained some of the very good sensible socially responsible things this Government is doing in housing. I remind Mr David Carter National MP that National members do not mind getting into State houses as long as they are ministerial ones provided by the taxpayer. There is a degree of double standards coming from those members: they do not mind getting into a State house but they do not seem to have any inclination towards letting poor people who need a helping hand up get into a secure house. I say to Mr Carter that that is absolutely speaking out of both sides of one’s mouth at the same time and he should be ashamed of himself. Mr Carter seems to have already forgotten about the huge number of houses that National sold off. That was absolutely despicable because it removed that valuable housing stock from people with the greatest housing need and placed them in far more severe financial situations than they were in previously. 
Fortunately this Labour-Progressive Government has invested millions of dollars in restoring the housing stock and helping people to get into a home that provides a secure roof over their head which brings all sorts of other social advantages with it. I will refer to the food bank statistics. Anybody who bothered to look at those statistics would tell the National members that one of the biggest costs for people who require food bank assistance is housing. Those statistics are very revealing and selling off the State houses shows that National Party MPs did not bother to go and read the statistics and look at the impact that housing costs particularly under National’s iniquitous market rent policy had on people’s incomes and the quality of life they were enjoying—and “enjoying” is not the appropriate word really. I remind the National Party members that housing is important not only for the fact that people need to have a secure roof over their heads but also for the improved health and increased educational opportunities that people are able to access when they have secure safe dry well-provided housing. National members seem to have completely disregarded the impact that safe secure dry housing has on people’s health and their education chances. 
It is very clear that National intends—if God forbid it ever gets back into power again—to sell even more houses or to quit itself completely of responsibility for what we know in New Zealand as State housing. Tony Ryall is on record as saying that National does not have a desire to expand the level of housing in New Zealand. Housing is not an issue that is dear to National’s core constituency so the National MPs have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. But I remind those members that a large number of people in New Zealand are fundamentally and philosophically in support of the provision of State housing. I meet people who would not necessarily strike one as being core Labour supporters but who still firmly believe in the provision of State houses. Having a roof over one’s head is a fundamental part of the New Zealand way of life. Those National MPs have clearly forgotten the appalling overcrowding situations that occurred in some of our biggest cities particularly in Auckland when as I said earlier the iniquitous market rent housing policy applied. We saw people living in garages. We saw two to three families—and that is no exaggeration—living in the same house and we saw all the health and social problems that accompanied that. 
New Zealanders do not want to return to that situation. New Zealanders want people to be able to have a home of their own and the vast majority of people who get a State house as we commonly refer to it move on. It is a first step towards people getting their own independence and having a home of their own helps them to gain it. 
Report noted.