6. Housing Supply—Housing Infrastructure FundSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister for Building and HousingHousing Supply—Housing Infrastructure Fund6. SIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister for Building and Housing: What response has he received from local government leaders and the housing sector to the Prime Minister's announcement of a billion dollar Housing Infrastructure Fund to assist councils in high-growth areas bring forward new development?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Housing): The new fund has been widely welcomed as the next logical step in the Government's wide-ranging housing plan by Local Government New Zealand by mayors by the Property Institute of New Zealand by the Employers and Manufacturers Association and by major players in the building industry. It builds on our work to fast track planning and consenting requirements in that in some areas councils are struggling to provide the required pipes roads and other infrastructure to keep up with the record pace of house building. The four councils that have publicly stated that they will be seeking support from the new fund are Auckland Hamilton Tauranga and Queenstown. Other areas may become eligible depending on the growth projections for the next 10 years to be updated by Statistics New Zealand later this year.Simon O'Connor: How will the new housing infrastructure fund fit alongside other parts of the Government's comprehensive housing plan particularly the national policy statement on urban development?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The Housing Infrastructure Fund fits very neatly alongside the new requirements for councils to free up more land. The best way to avoid land banking is to create genuine competition in section supply. This is why that national policy statement requires a 20 percent oversupply. This however puts pressure on councils to provide sufficient infrastructure particularly for those fast-growing councils that are approaching debt limits. This is a practical response that is part of our ongoing plan to increase housing supply.Simon O'Connor: How does the current pace of building construction compare historically; and what steps is the Government taking to grow the capacity of the sector to build the additional $1 billion of infrastructure?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Building activity is at an all-time high of $18 billion per year. This is 50 percent higher than at the last peak back in the mid-2000s and 28 percent higher in real terms. In Auckland residential building activity has trebled from $1.4 billion to $4.3 billion per year and over the last year it has grown by another 26 percent. The sector is meeting capacity limits and growth pressures. The Government announced further funding in the Budget of $14 million for apprenticeship training. We now have a record 42000 people training in the apprenticeship sector.Phil Twyford: Does the Minister agree with the New Zealand Herald that the Government's infrastructure announcement is just tinkering on the supply side of the housing market to feed an insatiable demand by speculators and that the Labour Party's policy would have been a much better option?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: It is interesting to note that the pace of new building that we are achieving is about double what Labour said in 2008 was achievable in this term of Parliament. I sometimes disagree with the New Zealand Herald like when it assumed that those people with Chinese-sounding names were the problem in the housing sector.