Ardern Jacinda: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeArdern Jacinda: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 03 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10665. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.JACINDA ARDERN (Labour) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in the Minister of Building and Housing in light of the Commissioner for Children’s criticism that the Government’s Bill on rental standards “will do little for children living in cold damp mouldy housing”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Jacinda Ardern: Does he accept that the loophole in the Government’s bill will allow houses to be insulated to a standard from 1978 and will mean that hundreds of children will be hospitalised unnecessarily?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No I do not accept that. What I do accept is that this is a Government that has insulated 320000 homes—many of them in the last few years—and that with our upcoming residential tenancy changes a further 180000 homes will be insulated. With the changes that we are making to the healthy homes they will start by 1 July 2019 compared with the recommendations by Mr Little when they will begin in 2023.Jacinda Ardern: Does he accept then Philippa Howden-Chapman’s findings that all rentals should be insulated to the 2008 standard—the standard used in Andrew Little’s healthy homes bill—particularly given that Ms Howden-Chapman was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Science Prize for her work on healthy homes?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think the moves that the Government is making are ones in the right direction. This is a Government that will have effectively seen the oversight of 500000 homes being insulated compared with the woeful record of the previous Labour Government which was 50000 homes.Jacinda Ardern: Does he agree with Nick Smith’s response to Otago University’s findings that properly insulated homes would reduce child hospitalisations by thousands of children a year which was that he would not adopt that policy because it would cost more than it would save; if so how many children need to be hospitalised for his cost-benefit analysis?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The Government takes the issue very seriously which is why it has insulated 500000 homes or will see them insulated in the next few years. But we do not think that the flimsy bill proposed by Andrew Little will work. What it will do is it will “attempt to regulate indoor temperatures”. Well that will be people walking around other people’s lounges and bedrooms with a thermometer measuring the temperature. And while they are—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order!Jacinda Ardern: If the Government is taking this issue seriously why will he not include in his Government’s bill any requirement for a heating source when everybody knows that an insulated house still needs to be heated if you want to stop children from getting sick?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The Government has taken a number of steps in that area but when it comes to private sector rentals—it has when it comes to Housing New Zealand and others—the question has to be asked about the trade-offs between the cost of those rentals and if those rentals go up even more in cost it will be even harder for those people to use any heating device that they have.Jacinda Ardern: If it is down to “trade-offs” what has changed since 2011 when the Prime Minister stated “I am prepared to commit Government resources to try to lift children out of poverty.” and now when he cannot even put in place decent housing standards or vote for Andrew Little’s Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill when the majority of children in poverty are living in private rentals that are often substandard?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Unfortunately—the member might want to grandstand on the issue but when the last Labour Government was in it did absolutely nothing. This Government has insulated 320000 homes and has a programme for a further 180000 homes.