Twyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:121. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū)to the Minister for Building and Housing: Does he agree with the statement from the Speech from the Throne that the Government will “have a focus on housing in this Parliamentary term. More special housing areas will be created—and therefore more new housing developed—as a result of Housing Accords signed between the Government and local councils”?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Housing):Yes because it was a very good speech.Phil Twyford: How many houses have been completed in the special housing areas and have people living in them?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There have been 294 building consents granted. There have been 46 resource consents granted for 617 sections. There has never been a record kept of houses with code compliant certificates not under the previous Government or the Government before that. What I would say is that there is a housing build going on in Auckland as a consequence of our policies.Phil Twyford: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This is a very straight question. In fact Auckland Council which is the partner in the Auckland Housing Accord has been talking publicly about the number of completed houses. It simply defies credibility that the Minister says that he does not know how many houses have been completed.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Mr Speaker—Mr SPEAKER: I will hear from the Minister because he did not say that he did not know; he said there were no records kept which I found quite a surprising point. I will hear from Dr Nick Smith.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The Auckland Council has said that six houses have been completed in one of the 80 special housing areas. It too has said that there never has been a record kept of the number of code compliant certificates on houses that are completed.Mr SPEAKER: Before I invite the member to ask a supplementary question it seems now that the first question has been answered as to how many houses have been completed. It is six.Phil Twyford: Was he embarrassed to hear comments made by property developer Jon Maplesden that many developers signed up to the special housing areas simply to increase the capital gain on their property and have no intention of building houses any time soon and reports that land in some special housing areas is now selling for three times its earlier value? Why did he conceal this information from the public while he was so busy trying to blame councils for the failure of his policy?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The 80 special housing areas that have been granted in Auckland we know is a good policy because the member Mr Twyford said on the platform in the election campaign that it was such a good policy he would be keeping the housing accords and special housing area initiative. It is true that when areas do get special housing area status the value is going up but I would point out to the House that a block of dirt in Flatbush inside the metropolitan urban limit sold for $800000 in 1998 and in 2008 sold for $113 million—more than a hundred times the price—because of the stupid policy of the metropolitan urban limit that that member has consistently backed. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! When I rise to my feet it is important that all members resume their seats. [Interruption] Order! Just ask the supplementary question.Phil Twyford: Does he stand by his statement that it will take some years for the market to respond to the special housing areas and at the rate of five houses a year how many years will it take to meet his target of the 39000 houses he promised Aucklanders?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The building consent figures show that in the last year 23921 houses have been built in New Zealand double the rate when we became the Government and the highest rate for 7 years. We know that the number of resource consents for housing is at the highest level for 10 years. We know from the GDP data that the residential building construction market has grown faster in the last year than it has in the last 20 years. We know from the employment data that the number of people working in residential housing is the highest for 10 years. That shows a housing building boom by anybody’s measure.Phil Twyford: Will he concede that the average monthly building consent rate under National is 32 percent less than it was under the last Labour Government and 46 percent less in Auckland?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I am happy to share the exact numbers with the House. In the last 3 months of the previous Government housing consents in New Zealand averaged 1000 a month—1000 per month. In the last 3 months we have done 3000 a month. That is double. But let us talk about Auckland. In Auckland in the last 3 months of the previous Government we averaged 200 a month. In the last 3 months we have averaged 600 a month—a trebling. Not bad—I will settle for that.Phil Twyford: I seek the leave of the House to table data from Statistics New Zealand that shows that the building consent rate is 32 percent less under National than it was—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Statistics New Zealand information is available very easily to all members.Joanne Hayes: What progress has the Government made in developing new housing at Hobsonville in Auckland and how does this compare with progress under the previous Government?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The Hobsonville development is progressing at pace. Two hundred and thirty houses have been completed and another 208 are under construction. Two new schools have been built and a new ferry terminal has opened. This contrasts with the previous Government which turned the first sod in 2002 and 6 years later that was all it had done.