12. Question No. 12—Housing (Social Housing)Hon KIERAN McANULTY (Labour) to the Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing)Question No. 12—Housing (Social Housing)12. Hon KIERAN McANULTY (Labour) to the Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing): Does he stand by all his statements and actions?Hon TAMA POTAKA (Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing)): E te Māngai o te Whare āna āna kei te tino tautoko au i aku kōrero i aku mahi. [To the Speaker of the House yes yes I very much support my words and my actions.] Hon Kieran McAnulty: Does he agree with Tama Potaka that National will build more social houses than the previous Government?Hon TAMA POTAKA: I te wā i a au e Minita ana āna e tika ana aku kōrero engari tēnā pea koirā te wā a Tama Potaka e mema Pāremata ana mō Kirikiriroa ki te Uru. [At the time that I have been a Minister yes my statements were correct but perhaps that is the time when Tama Potaka was a member of Parliament for Hamilton West.]SPEAKER: Do you want to hear that translation?Hon Kieran McAnulty: Do you?SPEAKER: Well I'm OK with it but there is that delay when you can require—you can use that delay if you want to.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order Mr Speaker. My point is that I'm interested in how you can receive that translation at the same time so that you can deem whether the answer was in line.SPEAKER: Well I wasn't relying on the translation. It's pretty simple. His body language—it's really quite—Hon Willie Jackson: Does the Minister stand by his statement that he will deliver for Māori communities and if so how will he deliver more homes for Māori when his Government disestablished the ministerial Māori associate housing role?Hon TAMA POTAKA: As you have heard through the last few months we are ruthlessly focused on delivering on the genuine needs of Māori: education health and housing particularly the over 1500 Māori whānau who are living in the emergency housing disaster that the malfeasance of the previous Government created.SPEAKER: No—Hon Willie Jackson: Point of order—SPEAKER: Just hang on. I'll just make that you can't make that final comment. You can talk about a situation you inherited but not the attack that's just been launched. Just watch that—if that's all right.Hon Chris Bishop: Point of order. This is a robust place.SPEAKER: Yes it is.Hon Chris Bishop: It has got to be possible for the Government to make commentary about previous Governments because there has to be a bit of back and forth to contrast and compare records. I accept that supplementary questions should not be used with the sole purpose of attacking the Opposition or the previous Government but it has got to be possible for the Government to compare and contrast what they are doing with the record of previous Governments otherwise the place will become so sterile we may as well not bother turning up. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Just when you're ready. No no Willie I'm responding to that. The point I'd make is that I think it is possible to do exactly what you're saying without making an accusation of for example malfeasance. And I think it is that stepping point between talking about a situation you're dealing with and an outright attack on another party's policy. I call the Hon Willie Jackson who will of course keep his question in the same bounds.Hon Willie Jackson: Will the Minister match the $750 million targeted investment for Māori housing that was delivered under the previous Government and if not why not?Hon TAMA POTAKA: What we will have are targets that reduce the number of children and whānau in emergency housing. We've established that target and announced it yesterday through the Prime Minister rather than sitting by and talking about how we're going to help whānau Māori in emergency housing and to see those numbers go up by several hundred.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Does he agree with Kāinga Ora that they will continue to increase the number of public housing places as long as it is funded to do so as stated during the annual review hearing?Hon TAMA POTAKA: We are absolutely committed to delivering on the genuine needs of all New Zealanders to ensure that there are sufficient houses to accommodate people unlike the previous Government which curated a situation where there are now five times as many whānau on the social housing wait list as there was when they started.Hon Kieran McAnulty: Does he agree with Kāinga Ora interim board chair John Duncan that if the Government doesn't provide the required funding past 2025 up to 10000 houses may need to be sold? Hon TAMA POTAKA: As we are all aware we have inherited a significant fiscal cliff left behind for us by the previous Government. But we are absolutely committed to actually delivering on the housing needs of Māori and all New Zealanders unlike the development aspirations of the previous Ministers. Hon Nicola Willis: Can the Minister confirm that despite having borrowed billions upon billions of dollars for Kāinga Ora the last Government managed to quadruple the State house waiting list? Hon TAMA POTAKA: I can absolutely confirm—SPEAKER: Yeah sorry that question could easily be in order but for one particular phrasing in it and I'd ask the Minister to—because we're in a learning situation here—Hon Nicola Willis: Yeah I'll try again. [Interruption] SPEAKER: Wait a minute—wait on. Ask the question but keep it in bounds. Hon Nicola Willis: Can the Minister confirm that between 2017 and today billions upon billions of dollars have been borrowed to put into Kāinga Ora and despite that the number of New Zealanders waiting for a State house today is four times as many as it was in 2017? Hon TAMA POTAKA: Ana I can confirm that. Kia ora tātou. Hon Kieran McAnulty: Does he agree with the Salvation Army's Greg Foster who said that they are having to pause future social housing developments because we've been told that there's no funding for us to build"? Hon TAMA POTAKA: I cannot confirm that I have heard or seen that quote but what I can—Hon Dr Megan Woods: It was on the 6 o'clock news last Sunday. Hon TAMA POTAKA: Well some of us are working very hard on our ministerial portfolios at 6 o'clock. But what I can confirm is that we are committed to ensuring that the housing that we tautoko—support—both public and private housing will accommodate Māori and all New Zealanders. Tihei mauri ora! Hon Chris Bishop: Can he confirm that advice provided to the incoming Government in December 2023 from Treasury said that on the current track Kāinga Ora is forecast to sell over 10000 public houses in the next few years? Hon TAMA POTAKA: I can confirm that and what a surprise it was for me to read it. Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order Mr Speaker. I asked a question on that exact piece of advice and the Minister refused to respond to it and refused to confirm it. But lo and behold he's happy to confirm it when he's asked it from his own side and that's interesting. SPEAKER: It is and it's—I'll have a good look at that Hansard. Hon Kieran McAnulty: Supplementary. SPEAKER: Just when the House goes quiet you can ask a supplementary. Hon Kieran McAnulty: Why then with community housing providers stating they are cancelling or pausing housing developments due to no funding certainty won't he simply announce the funding they need so that community housing providers can get on with building the houses that that Minister promised? Hon TAMA POTAKA: Mr Speaker tēnā pea me pātai koe ki taku hoa nei tōna minitatanga. Kia ora. [Mr Speaker perhaps you should ask my colleague here it is his ministerial responsibility. Thank you.]"