Robertson Grant: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRobertson Grant: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 09 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11854. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) on behalf of theMinister of Finance: Yes in the context in which they were given.Grant Robertson: Will he now revise his statement that there is no housing crisis in light of the Reserve Bank Governor saying today that “House price inflation in Auckland and other regions is adding to financial stability concerns. Auckland house prices in particular are at very high levels.”?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No. The Reserve Bank Governor—and I was not at the particular event this morning that the member refers to—references a lot of things at different times that may cause worry in terms of financial stability. That is his job. But in terms of house prices in Auckland yes they are high but also interest rates are at historically low levels which means that mortgage payments for people are probably significantly less than they would have been in say 2008. The challenge with that is of course that we want to make sure that people are not banking on low interest rates for ever.Grant Robertson: Why will he not agree to a mass State-sponsored affordable-housing building programme such as Labour’s KiwiBuild now that the Reserve Bank Governor has joined the chorus of people saying that additional housing supply is urgently needed?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: An additional housing supply is definitely happening. The member may not have seen at the beginning of the week Auckland residential construction topping $1 billion for the first time in the March 2016 quarter growing 13 percent in that quarter alone. I also note from the Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Statement that it is expecting that growth in supply to continue. I actually had a look back at the Labour Party’s KiwiBuild proposal and frankly it would have done hardly anything and already the private sector and the Government working together is doing far more than that.Grant Robertson: What specific actions will he take to give first-home buyers a fair go and to address the dominance of investors in the Auckland housing market who according to the Reserve Bank today account for 46 percent of sales?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Investors always play a significant part in the Auckland housing market and in fact investors do serve a useful purpose in adding investment into the housing market. So the member complains that he wants more supply but he then wants to knock over people who are prepared to invest in more supply.Grant Robertson: No I want first-home buyers to get it.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: We are doing things for first-home buyers with the Minister for Building and Housing’s HomeStart programme which is actually seeing very significant investments in first-home buyers.Grant Robertson: Is there a housing crisis in New Zealand?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No. There is a building boom there is a shortage in some areas and this Government is seeing the biggest and fastest growth in residential homebuilding that we have seen in many many years after inheriting a situation where the house construction business was in absolute collapse in 2008.Grant Robertson: Try an easy one Steven. Is there a housing crisis in Auckland?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Give me an easy one and I will give you an easy answer. No there is not but there is a challenge in providing sufficient housing and this Government has been working on supply which the Labour Party has just woken up to. We have been working on first-home buyer grants which the Labour Party has just woken up to and we have been working to encourage construction generally. All the Labour Party can offer is a bunch of Government-sponsored builders.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Is the Minister aware that in 2004 when Auckland house prices went up by 26 percent in 1 year half the rate that they are then the then Minister said it certainly was not a crisis?Mr SPEAKER: Order! No the question is out of order for two reasons. There is—[Interruption] Order! Mr Twyford if you wish to stay for question time on Thursday—it is always good fun so I would advise you to cooperate. The question is out of order for two reasons: it is marginal whether there is Government responsibility and it is certainly a question that I deem to be designed to attack the Opposition.