Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National—Whanganui): Tēnā koe. First of all I acknowledge the Minister of Housing and Urban Development and the members of your committee for the work and effort that has gone into the formulation of this bill. However I stand as a new MP and speak in support of the National Party in opposing the proposed legislation. I will speak to the facts of the situation rather than the emotive talk and I acknowledge the emotion that goes with such a subject and the content around the concern associated for people living in unhealthy homes.May I just share with you that looking at the title to this bill—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Sorry to interrupt the member but if the members across both sides of the House want a conversation please take it to the lobbies.HARETE HIPANGO: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. In continuing my view shared with the House the acknowledgment to the Minister and to the members of your committee is simply to say and share with you that when I look at the title Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2) the emphasis and focus of this of course is the onus that's placed on landlords and their duties and responsibilities to tenants within the homes. The opening statement that you made Minister—I listened carefully to your words—was that you said Every New Zealander" every New Zealander "deserves a warm healthy home." The emphasis of this bill is focused not on every New Zealander; it's a select grouping of tenants who live within the property owned by a landlord.I have represented for a good part of my professional working life the most vulnerable—those in deprivation and those in high need. I simply share with you that the expectation this party will hold your Government to account for is that every New Zealander does have that right to a healthy home.Hon Tracey Martin: Nine long years.HARETE HIPANGO: I simply share with you that over those nine long years the National Party did address these issues and the detail and the facts of those have been spoken to in this House. So in stating that you will be well aware that when you were in Opposition—and you are in the position that now this party in Opposition once was in—the Government addressed the importance and significance of healthy homes for every New Zealander by insulating 290000 homes through the Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes programme alone and insulating 30000 of Housing New Zealand stock. So these were commitments that were undertaken by the Government at the time.I just simply would like to come back to the purpose of this—[Interruption]The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order!HARETE HIPANGO: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I would like to come back to the Minister's statement around the intent that every New Zealander deserves a warm and healthy home. The intent behind this proposed legislation is focusing in your view upon those who are vulnerable as tenants. I can share with you my life experience as can many of us that are in this House. There are many homeowners who cannot afford to insulate. They were the very ones as well that National supported with the insulation programme when it was in Government for those nine long years. Prior to that it's also acknowledged that in the time prior to those nine long years the track record that was there—Labour didn't quite meet the standard.So we look forward now that you're in Government—because it is acknowledged that the numbers will be there for this proposed legislation this bill to be passed into law. But I will come back to the factual basis of the concern that this party has maintained and that is effectively is this proposed legislation really a Clayton's bill? In other words the Residential Tenancies Act and the amendment to that effectively requires by law the insulation the smoke alarms and the increased enforcement of housing standards. That's already in place.But let's not forget coming back to the Minister's commitment—and I commend the Minister for that—"Every New Zealander deserves a warm healthy home." This does not cover every New Zealander. We've heard reference that 50 percent of our population lives within a home. Let's not forget the other 50 percent who are homeowners. I will simply share with you that I have many of my own whānau who are homeowners. They have not been able to afford—and there has not been the standards imposed for them to have—what is talked about as a healthy home. Those subsidies were provided under the last Government and that was the commitment that National ensured. That was what was put in place when last year National passed the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill to require as I earlier said those standards. It's those standards that are proposed under this Clayton's bill to be met.So I will simply say that with the introduction of those standards under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill which is more balanced than the Government bill before the House today this may be a Clayton's bill and it is entirely not necessary. Time permitting I will just conclude by saying that I cannot support the passing of this bill into legislation. Thank you."