Little AndrewANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition): I understand why the Hon Gerry Brownlee is so dismissive of averages because that was a below average performance the likes of which we have not seen for a long long time in what has otherwise been a scintillating political career. I want to respond to some of the assertions made by the Minister in the chair Nick Smith who in typical National style has heralded the great bounteous virtues of its excessive building programme claiming to have stated facts but there was not a fact amongst them. The reality is that when you look at the house-build programme at the moment it is below the number of houses that were consented in 2004. Last year there were 9651 houses consented compared with over 12000 in 2004—so much for the biggest building programme ever in the history of New Zealand. But here is the telling figure. Here is the telling figure. If you have a look at the build rate per 1000 people in New Zealand—because let us face it when you have got a bigger population of course you should be building more houses. We have got more people and we have got a rapidly growing population. We have got to build even more houses. But if you have a look at the number per 1000 people sure it is 6.3 in the past year compared with 13.1 in 1974. The Minister dismisses those figures and says Oh but look at interest rates in 1974." Well actually a lot of those people were building houses under the State Advances Corporation rate of 3 percent. And then he says inflation was much higher. But hold on. We have got record low inflation right now as measured by the CPI we have got record low interest rates and people still cannot afford to buy their first home. That is the truth about New Zealand today. Unaffordability of housing has never been worse or greater or better—however you look at it. Here is the thing: a lot of people cannot buy their own home. That is what is happening in New Zealand today. And if you are living in Auckland—and Gerry Brownlee might be dismissive of the $1 million home. He sort of says "Well just because on this day somebody pays $7 million for a house it doesn't mean to say that a house down the road is worth as much." I do not know whether he understands things about property markets because that does not make sense. What is happening right now is that in Auckland and in other cities around New Zealand thousands and thousands of New Zealanders—people who live here; some of whom have been born here others who have come here to live—cannot afford to buy their own home because the prices are out of reach and the banks are clamping down on lending. The people trying to get the houses are working harder and harder and saving harder and harder and they still cannot afford to buy their own home. If they are lucky to have rich parents who can back them and bail them out they might get their home. You hear the stories of young couples with mortgages of $800000 $900000 a million bucks. They are in their 30s and they are on salaries of 60000 70000 or 80000 bucks. They have a pretty tough time. They are terrified that one of them might lose their job. They are terrified that something might change their circumstances and they will be out on the street. That is the reality for far too many people today. And then there are those in other parts of Auckland City and other parts of the country who want much more modest housing and who simply cannot get it or whose incomes are so low they are dependent on renting and the rents have gone sky high and they cannot even afford to rent. That is why Part 3 of this bill is so vital. It is part of the endless supply of ideas that the Labour Party has to come up with in answer to the housing crisis. The Minister scoffs at the call to have emergency powers or to declare a state of emergency on housing. It is a crisis. We are in a housing crisis. We can do better. The miserable kinds of millimetre-by-millimetre measures that this Minister is taking are simply not good enough. They are not helping enough people in a timely enough fashion. We have to do better. Part 3 with its promise of a Minister having to prepare a plan for 10000 houses each year is just the start of the comprehensive package and the endless supply of constructive and positive ideas that the Labour Party has. That is why we did support the special housing area amendment which we have just voted on and we will support any constructive measures that will get more houses built and more New Zealanders into their own home."