Mitchell ClaytonCLAYTON MITCHELL (NZ First): What a great pleasure to stand up on behalf of the Government to talk on the Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities Bill. I have to say there's nobody in New Zealand that wants a cold moist or unsafe home to live in in this country. The thought of that actually sends shivers up my spine—makes me feel like drinking cocktails. What we're looking for is warm dry safe and secure homes for all New Zealanders that are underpinned by affordability—something that the previous Government didn't deliver on for nine years.Kiritapu Allan: What did they do?CLAYTON MITCHELL: I'll tell you what they did. For nine years they sidled up alongside these properties the accumulation of State houses and sold them off to the lowest bidder that possibly they could get.Now we've got a new plan and I have to say that I know Mr Simpson didn't feel that this bill has got the credibility that it deserves but beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and I think this is a very beautiful thing. So too do New Zealanders when they see the efforts being made to ensure the security the wellbeing the longevity and the sustainability of our housing plan through this Government. Now when the Government comes together and works collaboratively with the private sector to ensure that they can deliver on these homes it's going to be a very successful outcome. When we can provide work and the long-term work for our building and commercial construction sector we enter into a boom phase which is also very good for our economy. We have 64000 homes owned by the State—is that right 64?Hon Member: 68.CLAYTON MITCHELL: Sixty-eight thousand—it gets better. Oh my God. I'm just getting blown away. Sixty-eight thousand homes are going to be upgraded—75 percent of those homes are going to be upgraded. Who's going to upgrade them of course? The private sector. They will go out and they will do that.We are looking to be a fair and reasonable landlord ensuring that for the most vulnerable people in our society—those people on fixed incomes those people that have disabilities some of our elderly people some people that are on low incomes and are stretched out—the State is there to provide that security that safety net for people in need.This is something that this Government—in fact even in Opposition last term in New Zealand First and Labour we were all talking about the issue when the State sell-off was happening right under our very noses. We thought We need to put an end to this." The State's absolute sole responsibility is to ensure wellbeing—not the wellbeing of profits of directors of shareholders and of large organisations but the wellbeing of the ratepayers and the taxpayers of this country. [Interruption] This is about ensuring their wellbeing into the future and that's what we are doing right here Mr Bennett. I know he'll be up speaking very shortly. I can't wait to hear his contribution. But stopping the State housing sell-off is a very very good thing. Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities is about creating safer communities to raise our families—a place where we can take families that are currently living in cars out of their cars put them into a warm safe dry home—not a moist cold damp home that's unsafe or unsecure—that's very secure where they can actually grow up in a community do their homework learn and be part of a society that they feel part of. If you think about the houses that have been built in the 1950s and the 1960s and the 1970s right now currently we're actually building more homes than we did even through that boom time of houses. But it's about affordable homes. The private sector do a fantastic job in certain sectors particularly around opening up parcels of land and building homes for a group of people that generally are more well off than others. But the State has a responsibility to ensure that we supply enough affordable homes so that New Zealanders who aren't on higher salaries who don't have the jobs that can support that sort of monthly cost of rents or even dare I say mortgages so that they can actually have a place of their own. New Zealand has always prided itself on being one of the best home-owning democracies in the world and that's something over the last previous nine years of the previous Government we have slipped behind and gone backwards on. Now we are absolutely committed to work with the private sector on this and the collaboration that has gone on with the construction sector to ensure that they are working and on board with the Government is surely a good thing. Certainly if I was in the private sector in the construction arena I would love to have a responsible partner like the Government who will pay on time rather than some of the other trading partners that could otherwise be out there. So I think the feeling and the response from the private sector is very very positive.Looking at ways that we can get people into these affordable homes through rent-to-buy schemes or shared equity is another great opportunity for this Government to explore more and ensure that we can open up those parcels of land. In fact I remember John Key proudly said that he grew up as a young man in a State home and many people in this House in fact probably grew up in a very similar state—and not ashamed actually very proud to think that the Government actually had the foresight and the planning. Even under a National Government and a Labour Government of old they made sure that those facilities and the availability of those homes were there for those people. We are just bringing back good solid values and ethics and morals that New Zealand can count on that this country this Government—Hon David Bennett: Morals! We don't want morals coming out of New Zealand First.CLAYTON MITCHELL: Great morals great values heading in the right direction—Hon David Bennett: Tell us about Jonesy's morals.CLAYTON MITCHELL: —because it's very important Mr Bennett. Really I hope you stand up and take a call mate.So ladies and gentlemen New Zealand First along with this Government are very very proud to put the weight and support behind the Kāinga Ora—Homes and Communities Bill. It's a step in the right direction.I have to say we have had—I think it was in Australia actually. In Australia they went through a change a number of years ago where they enabled first-home owners. They gave them a $7000 grant to try and stimulate their economy when it was having a bit of a downturn and enabled first-home owners that right to put a deposit down on a home. That was a good initiative by a Government—again it was through a tough time in the global financial crisis; I think it was about 2008 or 2009—that saw them in good stead moving forward and this Government now has its own policy to deliver on some of those ideas of homeownership and moving into areas that are going to be good for all New Zealanders.Disestablishing Housing New Zealand and HLC is a good step. I know that Mr Simpson talked about KiwiBuild being in there as well but it's actually a very simple thing. We are disestablishing Housing New Zealand. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the State provides affordable homes that are warm and dry not moist and cold and we commend this bill to the House."