Twyford PhilHon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Housing and Urban Development): This House is full of contrasts. On this side of the House we are coalition Government united in our purpose of laying the foundations for a confident and prosperous New Zealand committed to rebuilding public services that all Kiwis need and deserve. Our Government believes that every Kiwi family deserves a warm dry home. We want to end homelessness to build more State housing and to ensure that everyday Kiwis can afford to buy their own home. This Budget tackles the national housing crisis head-on. New Zealanders have told us they want the housing crisis fixed and that is exactly what we are going to do.But on the other side of the House what do they stand for? Well who would know? National want us to spend more but also spend less. They want us to borrow more but also pay down debt faster. They say that the priority is tax cuts and then on the other hand the priority is health and education. Are they unhappy that we're investing too much or too little? Perhaps it's the record investments in health and education and housing after a decade of neglect. Perhaps those are the things that they don't like on that side of the House.But inconsistency isn't the only problem here. Simon Bridges in his bizarre Budget reply said that National were investing more in health—a laughable assertion. Amy Adams says that we've cut Pharmac's funding despite the combined pharmaceutical budget being increased by $114 million to $985 million in this Budget year. Then Amy Adams said that we were cutting the internal affairs child sex abuse team—an incredible accusation to make and one that is utterly false because we are increasing we are doubling the size of the team.Let's not forget National's claim that we inherited a residential building boom. If there was a boom going on it was the quietest boom in history. A silent boom is what we inherited from that Government—a boom so quiet that only 8600 new homes were built in Auckland last year when the city needs 14000 just to stand still. Is it any wonder that we inherited a shortage of 71000 houses in this country from that Government?I'm going to call it: the biggest winner of Budget 2018 was Judith Collins' leadership ambitions.I'm proud of Budget 2018 and the work of Grant Robertson in putting it together. Budget 2018 lays the foundations for New Zealanders to have better lives in the decades ahead. It starts with the critical rebuilding of public services taking action on child poverty housing and homelessness and investing in our economic future. This Budget is also the first step in tackling the national housing crisis. Our Government is making a multibillion-dollar investment to build public housing and thousands of affordable homes to help house our most vulnerable people.Now for me this conversation begins and ends with this: that no one in this country thinks that it's OK for children to be growing up in the back of a car. New Zealanders have said unequivocally—Hon Amy Adams: But it's going to get worse right?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: —that homelessness is unacceptable. Amy Adams said it's going to get worse before it gets better and she's right because the legacy of nine years of utter negligence in relation to the housing crisis means that you can't fix this problem in six months—it's going to take longer than that. But this Budget lays the foundation for fixing those problems. Through this Budget we're building 6400 extra State houses and—Hon Amy Adams: Slower—slower. Slower than it was going to happen.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: —community-provided houses. And the member again tries to claim that it's more—or she's saying it's less than her Government did. Her Government presided over a reduction in the total supply of public housing of 1500 houses over nine years in the middle of a housing crisis. We're not selling them off. That's not our policy; our policy is to build more houses and that's what Budget 2018 does.The coalition Government is investing $169 million to address the shortfall to achieve the target of 2155 emergency and transitional housing places. That's a commitment that that former Government promised but they never funded it properly. Budget 2018 not only funds it properly but it extends the supply of emergency housing and Housing First that that Government started but didn't fund properly. This Government is investing $63 million to support 1472 Housing First places. This includes funding for 550 new places as well as fully funding the places that the former Government promised but never followed through on. Housing First is a world-recognised approach for helping people who find themselves literally without shelter. It's an acclaimed method for dealing with chronic homelessness and we are now not only continuing the work in Auckland in Hamilton and in the extension of Housing First to Wellington and Tauranga but we are now rolling it out to places around the regions like Rotorua like Blenheim in Marlborough like the Far North—places who are experiencing acute levels of unmet need and homelessness. Homelessness is not just a big-city problem; it is severely affecting a number of our regional centres.There's much to do and this Government with Budget 2018 is getting on with laying the foundations for fixing the housing crisis. Homeownership rates have fallen to the lowest in 60 years with Māori homeownership declining to only 28 percent—28 percent. That is why we are investing $2.1 billion to build 100000 affordable homes for first-home buyers—100000 affordable homes for first-home buyers Now if there's ever any doubt about this Government's commitment to the housing crisis look at what we are currently investing in this work: $862 million in a range of initiatives announced in Budget 2018 nearly $4 billion invested in the building of extra State housing—$4 billion—$235 million in income-related rent subsidies and $3.8 billion invested by Housing New Zealand in the building of extra State houses. Now that Government when they were in office took more than a billion dollars out of Housing New Zealand in dividends and taxes and interest payments and put that money straight back into the consolidated account. Our Government's policy is to invest those surpluses in the building of new State houses and that is exactly what we're going to do.Furthermore KiwiBuild will through our buying off the plans programme enable developments to be completed that otherwise would not have been undertaken. It will speed up developments that are not happening and it will ensure the construction of new affordable homes not McMansions that ordinary young Kiwi families can't possibly afford to buy.This Budget delivers on our commitments. In the Speech from the Throne we committed to be a Government of inclusion. Everyone who lives in this country is entitled to live a life of dignity and respect. Everyone is entitled to live meaningful lives to the best of their ability. Everyone is entitled to care and compassion. Everyone should have a roof over their head this winter and everybody should have food and a table to put it on. We committed to being a Government of transformation one that will lift up those who have been forgotten or neglected; a Government that will take action on poverty and homelessness. We will restore funding to the education and health systems after nine years of neglect in health and education. We will build a truly fair and prosperous nation together. We are committed to being a Government of aspiration one that aspires to make this a nation where all cultures and human rights are valued and where everyone can have decent housing and meaningful work. This Budget lays the foundations for that vision.