Carter John: Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Carter John: Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:18458] 
JOHN CARTER (National—Northland) 
: 
 I have to say that it shows how much the Government really believes in this legislation when it gets the Minister who has let the Defence Force run down to an absolute shambles and who allows prisoners out of prisons every day to come down to read a speech on it for about 2 minutes because he would not have a blind clue about this bill. The member Phil Goff would not have one iota of understanding. To make it even worse the Government puts up a lightweight member called Lesley Soper whom they brought into the House and who was then kicked out because she could not get high enough up on the list. The Government has brought her back and she will be kicked out again. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
JOHN CARTER 
: It is a day of sadness and shame in this country that we are addressing this sort of legislation in the depths of yesterday if we look at today’s date on the calendar on the wall. It is a shame because we have a member called Winston Peters who has purportedly stood for standards and who has been caught out having to try to explain again. He has also brought into disrepute not Helen Clark because she does not matter but the position of Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also now has to explain and that is a shame. Then the third thing we need to be concerned about is that we are here in urgency discussing this bill. 
I feel really sorry for the likes of Pita Paraone who is a very honourable person. I have great respect for that member. Unfortunately he is caught up in the trap of the Winston saga. 
Here we are tonight debating a third bill. We had the Biofuel Bill which the Government did not really support and then we have just gone through the Real Estate Agents Bill which was all about politics. And now here we are with a bill that is actually meaningless. The unfortunate thing about this legislation is that we are passing a bill that will have no impact other than to put more compliance costs into New Zealand and on to local government and it will not reduce by one diddly-squat the cost of housing to those who need it. 
Let me just explain why that is. The reason is that the Minister of Housing Maryan Street heard about what was happening in Queenstown. She thought that she would go down and look at what they are doing down in Queenstown because it actually works. What happened was that the council had got together with developers—those nasty people who actually make money—and said that it had a problem. The problem was that people who came to that town needed to be able to afford to live there and at that moment they could not. The council suggested that they all get together and give those people an opportunity to be able to afford a home. It suggested that where there was a subdivision and the developers were developing some housing the developers should set aside some funding that would allow those people to get a house that was cheaper than the average home that one might expect to buy in Queenstown. So that is what happened. 
The developers said that it was a good idea. They needed workers. They needed people to come down and help with the surveying they needed people to come down and help build houses. They needed people who are dentists they needed people who are doctors they needed people who are waitresses and they wanted to attract those people to that town. And of course they wanted the well-to-do people to retire there and they wanted to set a standard for them as well. They said that they should get together with the council and allow that to happen and that is exactly what happened. 
The Queenstown Lakes District Council and the developers—those horrible commercial people—all got together and said: “OK here is a good idea. We will make this happen.” Maryan Street heard about this so she whistled down there and said: “By gosh! What a good idea. Why do we not pick this up?”. So the Government forgot what the Queenstown Lakes District Council is doing and it brought in this silly bill that says to local authorities in New Zealand that they must provide affordable housing. 
But what does it mean? Well actually when one reads the bill it means nothing. It means absolutely nothing. All that it says to local authorities is that they shall try to do this. The fact is that every local authority in New Zealand opposes this bill with the exception of none because they know it will have no impact. I tell members opposite to go and talk to the mayor of the Queenstown Lakes District Council. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: He worked with the Government on this bill. 
JOHN CARTER 
: Of course he did; he worked to try to make this bill work. If the member will go and talk to him now he will tell her that it is a joke and that this bill will not work. I tell the member to go and ask him because I did. I asked him what he thought about this bill and whether it will work. He said that it was a joke and it will not work that it does not do anything that his council is not doing and that it is providing opportunities for people on lower incomes. 
Of course the sad fact is that the Government has got it wrong. What this Government will not understand is that part of the reason why we struggle in this country to provide affordable housing for low-income people is the compliance costs this Government has imposed on local government bodies which they have to pass on. Let me just talk about that for a minute. 
Lesley Soper 
: Have you read the bill by any chance? 
JOHN CARTER 
: The member can interject as much as she likes but the fact is that the way the Resource Management Act works under this Government—it has to be implemented by local authorities—means that every section subdivided in this country costs $50000 in compliance costs before one even gets started. Right now if one gets a building permit with the Department of Building and Housing which is administered by Shane Jones on top of the $50000 on average that one pays in compliance costs for a section one now has to pay another $25000 per home on average in compliance costs for building and it is nuts. So before one gets a section and house started one has to fork out $75000. 
The second point that has caused a problem and that this Government just will not believe in is not only does it cost $75000 but also people have an expectation that they will have a house valued above what they are able to afford. The fact is that in Northland right now we are starting to design and develop homes—just the house not the section; I will be very clear—working with the likes of Juken Nissho where we will have a modest three-bedroom home that is watertight and comfortable and has all the facilities for the cost of about $110000. We should be starting to provide that sort of thing on top of the cost of a section which is maybe $70000. So one might have a modest three-bedroom home for a first house costing somewhere between $180000 and $200000 and who would argue with doing that? It is a good start for a young couple who maybe have a child on the way or who are just starting out. They can get into a home as a way to step forward. That is what we should be aiming for. 
I really regret the fact that some of the other parties will support this bill because it will not achieve what they seriously want to achieve. I acknowledge that they want to achieve opportunities for young people. This bill will not do it. But the work National is doing in Northland and the work it will do around reducing compliance costs if it is fortunate enough to become the Government will certainly make sure that young people are given the opportunity to get into homes at an affordable level. It is those things that are important not making more rules and regulations and putting more cost on to local government and the ratepayers but allowing young people the opportunity to start at a price they can afford somewhere in the vicinity of $180000 to $200000 without their having to meet the $75000 of compliance costs this Government is imposing on them. 
I for one say that if I had the choice between supporting a Government that says I have to write out a cheque for $75000 before I even start or a party that is saying it will give me the opportunity to get into a first-time home modest though it may be which is a good start and is warm comfortable safe and secure for approximately $200000 without needing rules and regulations—[ 
Interruption 
] I just wish Lesley Soper would for once open her ears but she cannot because she is worried about the fact that she will not be here soon. I wish she would understand what I am saying which is that National is interested in getting young people into homes. I know that the likes of Pita Paraone also support that objective. This bill will not do it. But I do say there is an opportunity for us to make sure that we can and if we are given the opportunity then we will.