King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 November 2012. Volume:686;Page:6768. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
8. 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
 to the  
Minister of Housing 
: Does he agree with all of the Prime Minister’s statements on housing? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) 
: 
 I do. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s statement that using land at Hobsonville for affordable and State houses would relegate the site to “a lifetime of mediocrity”; if so why is the Government now prepared to build what he has called affordable homes on this site? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I think members know that the Prime Minister made it clear that there would not be any State housing at Hobsonville. The main reason for that is that the demand in that area is not very high and the Housing New Zealand Corporation can build houses on much cheaper land—more affordable houses—in other parts of Auckland which is the sensible thing to do. Once again Annette King is changing history. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon Annette King 
: Pathetic. In light of his statement that the Hobsonville affordable housing scheme will “demonstrate innovative commercial market-based solutions that could be replicated … elsewhere in New Zealand.” what is the breakdown of the actual cost of land house and development for an affordable home to be built at Hobsonville? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: The bare land cost at Hobsonville is $46k; land for road and reserves $46k; infrastructure works $80k; professional consultants $18k; and consenting fees and development levies $10k. The total cost before finance and margins is $200k. That is just the land but apparently the Labour Party is going to build 100000 houses— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! [ 
Interruption 
] Order! The Minister is not responsible for the Labour Party. I am sure he would not want to be. 
Hon Annette King 
: Has he visited sites within the current Auckland City boundaries for example in Mount Roskill Glen Eden and Mangere to view homes that have been built for $300000 including land house and development costs that are of quality and affordable; if not why should New Zealanders believe the Government that the only place that you can build a $300000 house is in Lumsden? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I have visited sites in those areas in the last few years. I think what the public question is whether you can build 100000 houses in 10 years. That is one house every hour 24 hours a day 7 days a week for 10 years and still 13000 houses short. That is what that party thinks the Housing New Zealand Corporation is going to do. 
Rt Hon John Key 
: If it is so possible for houses to be built for $300000 in Auckland unsubsidised why is it not happening today and why would the Government need to get involved? The answer is it is not. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Hon—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! Have the Labour benches quite finished? 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have to say that the noise over here was rather too loud and I would sure like to hear that question again please. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I believe the noise followed the question. 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: It is because builders and developers advise us as the National Party that when they sell a property people expect to buy the house and the land not just the house. 
Hon Annette King 
: How many houses was New Zealand building in the 2000s how many houses was New Zealand building in the 1970s and if the Minister does not know how many houses we were building then how can he say it is not possible for us to build 100000 houses over 10 years? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: That is quite easy and I want to put it to the public the House and the gallery that we are asked to believe that the Housing New Zealand Corporation which is leading this scheme is going to build one house every hour 24 hours a day 7 days a week for 10 years and still— 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was nowhere near the question I asked and no one has ever said that the Housing New Zealand Corporation was going to build the houses. 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Before I call the honourable member the Leader of the House knows he should not interject like that on a point of order. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: That was not a point of order was it? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It was a point of order. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: It sounded like a question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! No no the Leader of the House knows he should not do that either. Before the Minister seeks to carry on any further I bring him back to the question that was asked. The question asked related to whether he was aware of how many houses were built during the 2000s how many were built in the 1970s and why it is that he—forgive me; I do not want to go any further in case I get the question wrong. But the Minister in answering it I think should have made some reference to whether he knows how many houses were built in that period of time in those 10 years. 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I do not know how many houses— 
Hon David Parker 
: I seek leave to table a calculation to show that if a house was built every hour 24 hours a day— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! What is the source of this document? 
Hon David Parker 
: I have prepared it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member will sit down now. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! Someone will be going soon if this nonsense carries on. I will not tolerate—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! I am on my feet and the member knows that is not a point of order. It has been pretty good—[ 
Interruption 
] It is just as well I did not see who that was. This nonsense will stop. It has gone on too long. It is just too noisy and too disrespectful of this place. I just want the House to come back to order. I call the Minister to answer that question. 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I do not have the numbers of houses built but I do have some statistics on housing in New Zealand and they show that interest rates rent increases and property price increases— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member will resume his seat. How do interest rates during the period of the Labour Government respond to the question asked? 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I can answer that. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No. Order! I am not even going to give the Minister the chance to answer that because I am struggling to and I am not going to give the Minister the chance to do that because it is not reasonable. The interest rates during that period are not relevant. The member asked the Minister whether he knew how many houses were being built during the 1970s and the 2000s. It would seem the Minister does not know and we are not going to waste further time in the House if he does not know. It is not his fault if he does not but we are not going to waste time. I will give the Minister one more chance. 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I started the answer by saying I did not have that information in front of me. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That therefore has answered the question. 
Hon David Parker 
: I would ask whether the Minister checked his arithmetic coming to the House because by my reckoning if there was going to be one house built every hour for every hour of the day 7 days a week for 10 years there would be a build of 613000 houses not the 100000 houses that Labour says we are going to build. 
Hon PHIL HEATLEY 
: I guess that the press gallery will now go away and do that calculation and we will find out the answer. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Question No. 9—[ 
Interruption 
] Order! This is just—[ 
Interruption 
] The Minister is skating on thin ice. I am warning him—I am warning him. I was on my feet and he was continuing to interject as he is now. This will stop—just a little discipline. It is not that difficult.