Twyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 31 May 2016. Volume:714;Page:11469. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Building and Housing: Does he support abolishing Auckland’s urban growth boundary and replacing it with a smarter way of managing urban growth that includes bond-financing infrastructure; if not why not?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Housing): The Government is systematically dismantling Auckland’s urban growth limit through special housing areas the fast-track unitary plan and changes to the Resource Management Act and this week we will be furthering this work with a national policy statement on urban development capacity. On funding infrastructure the Government reformed the system of development contributions in 2014. That enables a more flexible approach to development agreements that enable the use of infrastructure bonds. However we need to be plain that the costs of water sewerage footpaths and drainage of subdivisions should be met by the developer. It would be wrong for developers to convert bare land into sections to take $450000—the median section price in Auckland—and then get someone else to pay for the infrastructure works.Phil Twyford: Which statement reflects the Government’s position: when Bill English said Labour’s proposals on infrastructure financing were “interesting and constructive” or when he said they were “creative accounting” and “nothing more than fool’s gold”?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The very changes that our Government made to the Local Government Act do allow appropriate infrastructure bonds to be used for infrastructure. Where I disagree with the member is this: the idea that you have an infrastructure bond or a special rate to pay for the sewerage to pay for the water and to pay for the footpaths in an immediate subdivision and bail out the developer who picks up the big increase in value from sections would in our view be a mistake. It would support the land bankers rather than supporting the ordinary Kiwi families that need an affordable home.Phil Twyford: Does he agree with the New Zealand Heraldthat his approach to make more land available in Auckland without new methods of financing infrastructure is “simplistic and on its own won’t achieve much” but that Labour’s infrastructure bonds plan is “a very good answer”?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Oh if only the New Zealand Herald had said that! The member as usual makes it up. I would note this though. At the last election Labour said that the most you could get from KiwiBuild would be growth of 12500 homes in home-building in this term of Parliament. We are on track to deliver double that—25000 homes for Auckland—and that shows the progress we are making.Phil Twyford: Does he think that Auckland Council’s plan to drip-feed 11000 hectares of land into supply over the next 30 years is enough or does he agree with Labour that getting rid of the boundary would do more to bring land prices down?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The irony in that member’s statement is that when the Productivity Commission came out with exactly that recommendation he called it an ideological burp from the extreme right. When I changed that policy 3 years ago and started implementing it he said it was an “idiotic policy”. So I say to the member opposite that he should listen to his own advice. He has come as a late conversion on the road to Damascus; we are getting on and doing the hard work.Alfred Ngaro: What growth has been achieved in the rate of new home constructions?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The latest numbers out today show over 28000 new homes over the last year and $17.6 billion in building activity which is an all-time high for New Zealand. In this term of Parliament we are expecting to build 85000 homes. That is 25000 more than in the last Parliament when 60000 were built. Specifically in respect of Auckland 36000 homes are going to be built during the term of this 51st Parliament and that is the largest number ever on record in Auckland.Phil Twyford: In light of that answer how does he intend to build the 37000 houses by the election that it would take for him to equal Labour’s building record while in office?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: We need to be honest about what occurred in 2008 because with the global financial crisis the rate of home construction collapsed down to Labour’s rate last month where only 10 houses per week were being built. We are now building 40 houses per week and it shows the progress that this Government is making in building a record level of house construction. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I will call the member; I do not need any assistance.Rt Hon John Key: Has the Minister considered emailing his policies to Phil Twyford so that Phil can get and adopt those policies even quicker than taking the 12 months he normally takes?Mr SPEAKER: Order! No that question is out of order.