2. Housing Market—AucklandANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterHousing Market—Auckland2. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement regarding housing that I don't think it's a crisis"?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes I am concerned about rising house prices. It is certainly one of our biggest challenges and that is why the Government has a comprehensive plan to deal with it.Andrew Little: Does he think the Auckland housing market is under control?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well that is a sort of subjective comment but certainly there is a record amount of construction taking place in Auckland. I think the Auckland Council is working constructively with the Government and the Auckland Council certainly looks to be very supportive of the announcements that the Government made on Sunday.Andrew Little: Given that only 9400 new houses have been consented in Auckland this year and that Bill English says that only 5 percent of new builds are affordable does this mean that fewer than 500 affordable houses will be built in Auckland this year?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No.Andrew Little: How does he reconcile his claim that there are plenty of houses in the pipeline with Statistics New Zealand's statement that "The trend for the number of new dwellings consented in Auckland has tailed off since late 2015."; or is that just another inconvenient fact for his Government?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Consenting for new houses in Auckland is at the highest for a decade. The Government can see in the great number of special housing areas in Auckland how many have infrastructure works on them. All of the feedback both official and otherwise that we get from Auckland Council is that it is continuing to process those consents at a very fast rate and I have no doubt that both the national policy statement potentially the implementation of urban development authorities and the billion-dollar fund announced on the weekend—all part of the Government's comprehensive plan—will see more houses built.Andrew Little: Does he agree with the New Zealand Herald that his piecemeal efforts have failed to resolve the housing crisis and that lending money to councils will be no different?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Mr Twyford—Order! A little less interjection.Tim Macindoe: What steps is the Government taking as part of its comprehensive plan to deal with housing—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order!Tim Macindoe: —and—Mr SPEAKER: No. I am getting email from members of the public who are now getting quite fed up with the fact that they cannot hear a question and often they cannot hear an answer because some members to my left either do not like the question or do not like the answer. Mr Macindoe has a right to ask a question. I can deal with it more severely if I need to. I do not want to. I am just seeking some cooperation from members to my left.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Disorder is encouraged when questions are not in order. The Standing Orders make it clear that questions are not allowed to include assertions. The idea that the—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order.Hon David Parker: The idea that the Government can load up a question by saying that its response is comprehensive as an assertion is what caused the disorder.Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order.Mr SPEAKER: No I do not need any assistance—Hon Gerry Brownlee: But I would like to support it.Mr SPEAKER: Order! No I do not need your assistance but I do thank you for offering it. I will determine whether a question is in order or not. There will be some questions asked that members do not like the tone of and that applies to both sides. Some Opposition questions members on my right-hand do not like and the other way round. I will be the sole determinant but I thank Mr Parker for his assistance.Tim Macindoe: What steps is the Government taking as part of its comprehensive plan to deal with housing and housing affordability issues?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: There are many parts to the Government's comprehensive housing plan. They include our social housing bill our emergency housing programme special housing areas the expanded HomeStart scheme for first-home buyers freeing up surplus Crown land the national policy statement Resource Management Act reforms and the extra tax measures we took last year. On Sunday I announced a new $1 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund to support infrastructure needed for new housing in high-growth areas and we are considering independent urban development authorities for areas of high housing need. By any definition this is a very comprehensive housing plan.Denis O'Rourke: If it costs $1 billion to fix a housing challenge in Auckland how much will it cost to fix the housing crisis in all of New Zealand?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The $1 billion is actually only a small part of the infrastructure that is required to build all of the houses around New Zealand but the Government is I think making an important step to allow those councils to bring forward housing that would otherwise be waiting. But by any definition the Government's response is wide ranging and we can see that by the fact that we are in the biggest housing boom and construction boom we have seen for a very long time.Andrew Little: In light of the fact that councils can already borrow at 3 percent a year meaning his new loan facility really just amounts to a $30 million-a-year saving for councils is that seriously the best and most comprehensive response he can come up with for a shortfall of 40000 houses?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The issue is not the interest rates that councils might be able to borrow at; the issue is whether the councils run into their debt ceilings. The advantage of the fund is that it does not go on to the balance sheet of the councils until they are at a point of actually having the cash up front. The fact that the member does not understand the way that the balance sheets of a council are made up would come as no surprise to members on this side of the House but he really should learn some basic economics.Tim Macindoe: What reports has the Prime Minister seen in support of the Government's new $1 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund which he announced at the weekend?Hon Annette King: What did the New Zealand Herald say?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well the New Zealand Herald thought your leader was a loser so if you want to quote the New Zealand Herald fine you can go for it. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is a good example of the way an interjection from my left to my right causes some disorder. If the Prime Minister would now address the question.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I have seen many reports providing strong support—Hon Member: He's a bit sensitive.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yeah that is true. That is why Grant was promoting the article. The Property Institute of New Zealand said these measures are great. Local Government New Zealand said that the new fund is an example of local and central government working together. The Queenstown Lakes mayor said that it would certainly be right that looking for these projects would be an excellent idea. And the Auckland mayor said that it is a significantly sized fund. There has been widespread support for the new Housing Infrastructure Fund.Andrew Little: How many more housing announcements that were not in the Budget is he planning to make to tackle a crisis he says does not exist or is the Budget not comprehensive any more?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is right that it is a comprehensive plan and has many parts to it. There are always other parts of it potentially. That is really the point is it not with the challenge of housing not just in Auckland but anywhere else around the world where we are seeing this. There is no one single thing that will resolve it. What we do know is that this Government is tackling each and every part of it and that is in quite significant contrast to the last time New Zealand saw these issues under the previous Labour Government when there were no parts to any plan. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I have told this side off a number of times for its interjections. They are just about as insistent from one member to my right and they will cease.Andrew Little: Is it not time for him to admit what every New Zealander can see: that his Government has no comprehensive plan and that what we need is a Government-led programme to restore the Kiwi dream of homeownership by building thousands of affordable homes for Kiwis to buy?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: If the member was to be believed then we would not have the highest level of building activity in Auckland for a decade. If the member was to be believed we would not have 24000 extra people working in the construction sector in Auckland alone. If the member was to be believed the special housing areas that have been released in Auckland by the Government would not be being built. If the member was to be believed the Auckland Council would be rejecting the $1 billion infrastructure fund that the Government announced in the weekend; in fact it is quite the opposite. If the member was to be believed then the tax changes that we announced last year would not have had any impact on the market. If the member was to be believed then the Crown land that we released would not be about to be built on. The facts of life are that the housing market is a lagging indicator but it is certainly ramping up supply."