4. Question No. 4—HousingBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 4—Housing4. BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by all the Government's statements and actions in relation to the Land for Housing Programme?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): Yes.Brooke van Velden: How many houses will be built under the agreement on the future of Ihumātao which is based on funding from the Land for Housing Programme over the next three years?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The number of houses that will be built on this parcel of land is still being worked through. There is a very clear process that is established under the agreement of how this number will be arrived at. Under He Pūmautanga which was signed between the Kīngitanga the Crown and the council the process was laid out. The Kīngitanga is currently acting as an intermediary between mana whenua the Crown and the council. They will determine who has ahi kā status in accordance with tikanga and from here a rōpū whakahaere to make decisions on the outcome for land including the establishment of a development partner and the number of houses will be determined. I note this will be way more than the zero that were going to happen under the land as it was currently held.Brooke van Velden: Is it true as stated and redacted in paragraph 21 of the advice Housing and Urban Development submitted to Cabinet that the new owners of Ihumātao could determine there are other uses which are deemed to be more suitable than housing" for the land?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In terms of the paragraph 21 that the member is referring to of course the Cabinet paper had to canvass what would happen if other decisions were made and that was also clearly laid out in the Cabinet paper. That was in redacted paragraph 23.Nicola Willis: How can she justify using funds to purchase land at Ihumātao that were explicitly earmarked in this document Budget 2020 for KiwiBuild homes?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The member is confused about the KiwiBuild appropriation—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order!Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: —that within the KiwiBuild appropriation sits an allocation called the Land for Housing Programme. This was an allocation that was set up in December 2017 and I will take the member through the purposes of that allocation: (a) uses funds to acquire land that is suitable for residential development; (b) it can on-sell that land to iwi and/or private developers who use their own capital to develop the land; and (c) requires that each site be developed to conditions so that its development contributes to addressing the Government's social objective in relation to housing in particular by increasing total housing supply the pace of construction and the proportion of new dwellings built for public housing and/or first-home ownership. So to claim that this is money that would be used for the building of houses is incorrect.Brooke van Velden: Why was the Land for Housing Programme used to fund this agreement when the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said that there were other uses than housing that could be deemed more suitable under this agreement?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The Land for Housing account was used because the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development deemed that this was a piece of land that (a) was deemed suitable for building houses—in fact it already had consents on it; Fletcher Building were planning to do houses there. It also sits very neatly within our acquisition programme within the Greater Auckland area of land that is being purchased for housing outcomes. So in answer to the member's question it was used because it does fit within a portfolio approach to our land acquisition in Auckland.Brooke van Velden: When will the first house be built?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I refer the member back to the detailed answer that I gave her in terms of the process that is now being worked through that will result in a development partner being established. That time frame is yet to be determined but what I would point out to that member is that it will be far quicker than the alternative would have been.Brooke van Velden: Is it an error or is the KiwiBuild dashboard correct when it says zero KiwiBuild houses were completed in January?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I don't have the dashboard in front of me but I would not be surprised if it was zero. Builders like many New Zealanders do take holidays over January."