Lotu-Iiga Sam: Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLotu-Iiga Sam: Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 11 February 2016. Volume:711;Page:8962. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Peseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (Minister for Ethnic Communities): on behalf of theMinister for Social Housing: I move That the Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill be now read a second time. This Government is continuing its commitment to improve the social housing system in order to support more vulnerable New Zealanders across our country. I would like to thank the Social Services Committee and particularly the chair Alfred Ngaro for the timely consideration of this particular bill. The committee considered 11 written submissions and it heard from eight of those submitters. The main change recommended by the select committee is to introduce a requirement that the Crown report on its operations for State housing land that is declared to be under exclusive ministerial administration.There are a number of other minor amendments recommended by that committee that have been made. I am grateful also for the efforts of those officials who worked on the bill. The bill essentially achieves three things. First it authorises designated Ministers to enter into social housing transactions in the name of Housing New Zealand Corporation and its subsidiaries. This allows us to transfer homes beginning first in the areas of Tauranga and Invercargill to various community housing providers. Along with transferring some of those properties this bill enables the designated Ministers to enter into contracts to require that Housing New Zealand provides transitional services to those community housing providers to ensure that their tenants’ needs are looked after during that transfer process. It will also ensure that the transaction processes work smoothly for current tenants.The transactions process is new both for the Government and for the community housing providers that it will deal with. The processes are proceeding in a measured way so that potential participants have the opportunity to prepare and the rights of tenants are protected under that process. Officials have received expressions of interest about both the Invercargill and the Tauranga social housing transactions and by mid-March they will announce a short-list of bidders who will be asked to submit a detailed response to a request for proposals issued by the Government. So the Government is pleased with the level of interest shown in these transactions but there are safeguards in place over this process. Following exercise of the transaction mandate Ministers are required to publicly notify the general nature and the purpose of the use by means of a statement published in the Gazette and it is presented to this House of Representatives. This provides transparency and allows for Parliament and New Zealanders to assess whether the exercise is consistent with the purpose outlined in the legislation.The bill also clarifies that the Public Works Act 1981 offer-back provisions do not apply to land held by Housing New Zealand and preserves this treatment for designated Ministers. Just as the offer-back provisions do not apply and have never applied to land held by Housing New Zealand they do not apply to the Ministers acting in Housing New Zealand’s name. It is important to provide certainty on this point to avoid delay to the social housing reform process. This amendment does not alter any existing rights; it merely confirms that the current legal position of the offer-back regime does not apply to Housing New Zealand properties. It is also important to note that this bill does not remove any rights of first refusal that iwi may have in relation to Housing New Zealand properties under the Treaty settlements processes. We have been engaging with affected iwi since last year to ensure that the rights are appropriately recognised.The final aspect of this bill is an amendment to the Housing Act 1955 to clear up a longstanding issue not directly related to the social housing reform programme. This amendment is a technical one that gives a designated Minister the exclusive power to administer State housing land that has been identified by that Minister in a Gazette notice.The bill is an important one but it is a small part of an overall work programme to improve social housing across our country. We are also opening up Crown land in Auckland for social and affordable housing developments providing more emergency housing with a $2.5 million funding boost to the sector we are contracting with community providers to provide more social houses in Auckland and freeing up social houses by reviewing the tenancies of those who can afford private rentals. This Government remains committed to improving the lives of tenants in social housing and this bill supports that objective. I commend this bill to the House.