9. Question No. 9—HousingCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 9—Housing9. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by her statement What we don't have is people living on the streets and in cars" and how many children were included in the applications for people on the public housing register who were living in a car at the time they applied as at the quarter ending 30 June 2022?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): In answer to the first part of the question I stand by my full statement in the context of defending expenditure on emergency housing motels against Opposition attacks where I said "What we don't have is people living on the street or in cars. That's the alternative." and I am yet to hear from the critics of that spend a constructive suggestion of what the alternative is. Stopping spending isn't the answer. The answer is building permanent transitional and emergency housing and that is exactly what we are doing. In answer to the second part of the question the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) advises me that they collect data on the people applying to the register at the point of presentation and in the quarter ending 30 June 2022 480 applicants on the public housing register reported living in a car at the time they applied. People living in cars is not acceptable and the difference under our Government is they don't have to. We acknowledge that there is a housing crisis we have removed the cap the previous Government set on funding emergency housing places and we actively work with people to come forward and seek help if they need it. This is the same spending that the member and his party is constantly criticising.Chris Bishop: Point of order Mr Speaker. The primary question is "how many children were included in the applications for people on the public housing register". The Minister gave me the total number of applications which was 480. I know for a fact that the data is broken down as to how many children were included in the applications and the Minister didn't give me that answer.SPEAKER: Well if the member knows the answer—Chris Bishop: No I know the fact that the data is built like that.SPEAKER: I think it's an area the member can pursue by way of supplementary if he wants to.Chris Bishop: Well point of order Mr Speaker. The—SPEAKER: Is the member proposing to not have a supplementary?Chris Bishop: No. I'm proposing that you make the Minister answer the question which is a primary question on notice.SPEAKER: And if there was a requirement to answer the question this place would be very different. The question was addressed.Chris Bishop: It's a primary question on notice.SPEAKER: Order! Order! Does the member want to have a supplementary? Chris Bishop: Yes. SPEAKER: Ask it.Chris Bishop: How many children of the 480 the Minister referenced in her primary answer were included on the applications for people on the public housing register who were living in a car at the time they applied at the quarter ending 30 June 2022?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The household composition data is broken down in a way that doesn't necessarily reflect whether or not those children are in cars. So if we have a look at two-plus adults with children that were part of it for the period ended 30 June 2022 there were 15 applicants; single with children were 99. But the point about this is it doesn't necessarily follow because of the complex family arrangements of these that these children are actually in the custody of the people who are applying. The situation is a little bit more complicated than the numbers and that's why I gave the member the total number in the answer to the primary question.Chris Bishop: Can she confirm that the Government has regularly provided—including as recently as March last year—the number of children included in the applications for people on the public housing register and given the total number is 480 why can she not tell the House now what the number of children included in those applications is?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In as far as I have responsibility as the Minister of Housing for this the numbers that I have given are what I am advised from MSD—that the household composition is broken down by the number of household applications that include children in those applications. There could be other data but that is not what I have been advised of.Chris Bishop: Why did she say in June 2021 "What we don't have is people living on the streets and in cars" when the number of people recorded as living in cars at the end of March 2021 was 435 including 198 children?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The point that I made in answer to the primary question is that when people identify as living in a car at the point of application to go on to the housing register with MSD then they do not stay living in a car. They are then transferred into emergency housing and that offer is made to them. Of course not everyone chooses to go on it but the offer is made. The other point that I made in answer to the primary question is that unlike the previous Government who capped the number of places—and Paula Bennett by her own admission at the time as Minister admitted that there were not enough places for everybody that needed it—in 2017 we give people a motel roof over their head rather than a car roof over their head and that member is now crying crocodile tears because he and his party do nothing but criticise that spending.Chris Bishop: Does she agree with the 2017 statement by Labour MP Jacinda Ardern that "Kids living in cars & motels is not a sign of care" and if so is she concerned that according to MSD the number of people living in cars has quadrupled under this Government?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes I do agree with that statement from Jacinda Ardern and that's why we as a Government have put in place measures such as the Homelessness Action Plan. It's why we are funding the largest public housing build since the 1970s. It's why we have more than quadrupled the number of permanent transitional houses since we came into Government. I also concur with Simon Bridges who is quoted in Blue Blood: "We didn't put sufficient weight on the social issues like housing and the environment. The '14-'17 term was the time to open up the till a bit and do something about social spending." Clearly Mr Bridges went on a road to Damascus that the current housing spokesperson for the National Party has not been on.Chris Bishop: Will she instruct her officials to go out and make their number one priority getting kids and families out of cars and into accommodation and say to her officials "I will not approve a single extra back-office staff member for your organisation until you sort it out.'?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The back-office staff members who you sorted out—the refuge of the people without policy since for ever. I don't have to give that undertaking to this House because that is exactly what our Government is doing. We are not a Government that by our own admission is not funding enough motel places to get kids out of cars—we have made that a priority. The National Party have done nothing but criticise that but I stand by the quadrupling of transitional housing places I stand by the Homelessness Action Plan and I stand by the 10000 additional public housing places that we have delivered in five years of Government. What we are doing is dealing with the dregs of the carnage of a housing crisis created by the National Party."