7. Housing Auckland—Affordability Supply and State Housing StockPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Building and ConstructionHousing Auckland—Affordability Supply and State Housing Stock7. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Building and Construction: My question is for the Minister of housing. Does he agree with his Auckland Housing Accord that there was a shortfall of 20000 to 30000 houses in Auckland in 2013; if so how much is it getting worse by each year?Mr SPEAKER: This question is to the Minister for Building and Construction.Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for Building and Construction): The Auckland Housing Accord was about jump-starting new-home construction which had languished at about 4000 homes per year for 5 years and it projected long term that Auckland needed about 13000 additional homes per year. No one claimed that this more than trebling would occur overnight. We have achieved the accord targets and the longest and strongest growth in residential construction in Auckland's history. I am sceptical of shortfall estimates; officials have advised me that depending on what assumptions are made they may vary by as much as 50000 homes. For instance whether you assume an average of 2.8 or 2.9 people per house actually makes a difference of 20000 in the number of homes. The most reliable indicator of supply and demand being in balance is stable prices. I am encouraged by the fact that over the last 6 months in Auckland house prices have actually dropped by 2.4 percent.Phil Twyford: Is it not strange in a Government that professes to be interested in evidence-based policy making that the Minister whose job it is to increase the supply of affordable housing does not even want to know how much the shortage of houses is after 8 years in Government and 4 years as the housing Minister?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The best indicator of the degree of supply and demand is prices. In the Christchurch market it is very clear that we have supply and demand in balance and that is reflected in prices. The progress that we have made in Auckland where we have increased the number of homes being constructed from the 4000 a year that Labour left us with to now over 10000 a year shows the progress the Government is making.Phil Twyford: Why is it that if the best indicator of the scale of shortage is the price of housing Auckland has housing that is now ranked as the fourth most unaffordable in the world and has a median multiple of 10:1; is that not a sign of the total and utter failure of his housing policy?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No. The difference is that house prices doubled under the previous Labour Government and it did nothing. This Government has a wide reform programme that is seeing the rate of house build grow from 13000 per year to over 30000 per year. In fact last year residential investment in Auckland grew by 27 percent in one year. This is the longest and strongest period of residential housebuilding growth in Auckland and we are going to need more of it given the success of the country and the strong migration that is occurring because Kiwis want to stay here.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Minister who has quoted consent numbers in this House for years tell the taxpayers of Northland and provincial New Zealand why they are having to pay for the hash made of Auckland's housing when in the 5 years to 31 October 2016 13676 fewer dwellings were built in Auckland than were consented to?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member's figures are garbage. If you compare the number of consents that were issued between the last two censuses and the census data on the number of new houses that are completed they are within 1 percent. The only way that member's figures would be correct is if he were to argue that census data cannot be relied upon.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek leave to table documents obtained from the Auckland Council under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act relating to code compliance certificates issued for completed residential dwellings in 2016 to 31 October which are dated 27 January 2017. That is my evidence.Mr SPEAKER: Order! It does not need any more—Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: I will allow the Minister to comment before I put the leave.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Oh no put the leave. I am sorry.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular information from the Auckland Council. Is there any objection? There is none.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I seek leave of the House to table the analysis by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) that compares consent numbers with census numbers on the number of homes which shows that those two figures are within 1 percent of each other over the last 25 years. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I just check with the Minister—is that information freely available to members?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No it is a specific report.Mr SPEAKER: On that basis the House can decide. Leave is sought to table that particular report from MBIE. Is there any objection to it being tabled? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Phil Twyford: Can he confirm that the Government has no actual plan to build 69000 additional homes in Auckland and that in fact all Bill English is saying is that it is possible to replace 27000 State houses but there is no commitment that any of the new homes that are built will be affordable?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The point that the Prime Minister made yesterday was absolutely accurate and it was this: yesterday the High Court confirmed the Government's position on the Auckland Unitary Plan. Under the existing planning rules Housing New Zealand could only increase its stock on its landholdings from 27000 homes to 30000 homes. With the new unitary plan that can be expanded to 69000 homes reinforcing how important yesterday's court decision was. I would be happy to take the member to Hobsonville to Tāmaki to Northcote and to the record number of homes that have been built by the Government. Last year Government agencies built more homes than in 25 years.Phil Twyford: When the Prime Minister promised yesterday to build 69000 new homes on Crown land in Auckland over 10 years did the Minister tell him that Housing New Zealand officials told a select committee last week that it would take up to 50 years to do that; who does he think is not telling the truth: the Prime Minister the Minister or—Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I will hear the point of order.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member cannot assert that the Prime Minister is not telling the truth.Mr SPEAKER: The last part of the question was certainly unhelpful. I will review it later but I do not think he actually did accuse the Prime Minister of not telling the truth. He asked whether the Prime Minister in saying yesterday that 69000 houses can be built in 10 years was correct or not.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I would be happy to table the transcript of exactly what the Prime Minister said. He made reference to the High Court decision yesterday that reaffirmed the unitary plan changes that provided the potential for Housing New Zealand to expand its existing housing stock from 27000 to 69000. I would also point out to the member if he has not noticed that the Auckland Unitary Plan is a plan over 30 years. Last year the Government built more houses than any other year including the 9 years when house prices doubled during the last Labour Government.