5. Housing—Ownership Rates Policies and SupplyHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Housing and Urban DevelopmentHousing—Ownership Rates Policies and Supply5. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: Other than those already signalled by the Minister what new policies does he intend to pursue in response to the findings of the Stocktake of New Zealand's Housing Report released this week?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Housing and Urban Development): One aspect of the national housing crisis that the report reveals which has been ignored in the past is the problem of hidden homelessness—those who feel they cannot seek Government support for their families. The extent of hidden homelessness has never been adequately assessed so I've asked officials to look into how best to count the number of homeless to provide a more accurate picture of the national housing crisis and the real demand for transitional and emergency housing. New policy may well result once the true extent of the failure of the past Government is uncovered. However the main solution is obviously to build more houses.Hon Michael Woodhouse: If the housing problem is deeper and more entrenched as the Minister said this week and his officials are advising that KiwiBuild will deliver only 13 percent of the expected 30000 extra dwellings in this term of Parliament why is his talk on the issue not backed up by more action?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: It is.Andrew Bayly: Does he agree with the repeated statements made by the MP for Te Atatū that special housing areas are and I quote a spectacular flop"; and if so why does he intend to use special housing areas to prop up his KiwiBuild programme?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I generally agree with the member for Te Atatū. He has some excellent things to say on the state of the housing crisis. I agree with that member when he says that the former National Government's policy of special housing areas which promised 39000 houses in Auckland in the last parliamentary term and delivered about a thousand and couldn't up until the date of the last election tell the public how many affordable houses were built by that policy over three years.Harete Hipango: Does the Minister accept the findings that despite the apparent availability of land owned by Māori there are inherent challenges and complexities associated with the opportunities to build on multiple-owned land and that being so in your capacity as Minister concerned about housing and as it impacts on Māori why has the new Government overturned and rejected Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill designed in part to unlock Māori land potential but also housing development potential?SPEAKER: No no. There were about three ways that could have been ruled out and I think there's general acceptance of that. I will give the member a crack at rephrasing the question in a short form that goes right to that Minister's responsibility not to the Minister of Māori affairs or whoever else is responsible.Harete Hipango: Minister in your capacity as the housing Minister—bearing in mind what the report notes as has been stated and the impact that it has on Māori housing development potential—why has the new Government overturned Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill?SPEAKER: Right no it didn't get there. Sorry. Hon Alfred Ngaro: What specific conversations has the Minister had with the Minister for Pacific Peoples to identify strategies to increase the low Pasifika homeownership rate identified in the report?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I've had a number of conversations and commenced a number of streams of work that are designed to address the plummeting rate of homeownership among Pasifika and Māori families which is such a stain on our country's housing record. What I won't be doing as housing Minister—SPEAKER: Order! The member's answered the question.Paul Eagle: What policies has the Minister already signalled?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: We've signalled a number of policies that relate directly to the findings of the housing stocktake report. We're going to build 100000 affordable homes for young Kiwi families. We're reviewing the rental laws to make renting work better for the half of the population who rent. We stopped that party's mass sell-off of State housing and we're going to build thousands more. We're improving the financing of infrastructure—SPEAKER: Order! I do want to remind Government backbenchers that they are not to ask questions that are patsies that are designed to attack the previous Government. I want to remind Ministers that there is a lot of precedent around being able to be political in response to political questions from the Opposition but not to do so off the back of patsies. Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does the Minister appreciate that it is impossible to talk houses into existence and apart from pinching existing developments off the private sector does he not need to do a great deal more action rather than talking?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I think it's a bit rich coming from a Government who for nine years talked and talked about the housing problems refused to admit there was a crisis and built virtually no affordable houses."