Sio William: Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSio William: Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3531. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Su’a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Māngere): It gives me great pleasure to also add my remarks to this particular debate. I was caught off guard because I would have thought that given this is a significant policy introduction by this Government National members would utilise their full time in convincing us why this is an important piece of legislation. It is shameful to say the least that they spend not even a full minute on it.In my mind this bill confirms once and for all not only that the National Party continues to be in denial in terms of the housing crisis but also that it is now denying every New Zealander the opportunity to have a home that they can live in. You see for the past 7 years this Government has continued to deny that there is a New Zealand housing crisis. Even now the Prime Minister continues to deny it and does not accept it despite the fact that this is his third term. Government members are in deep denial about it. They continue to deny it because I suspect building more houses is just too challenging for them and building more houses reduces the profitability of the portfolios of some of their investor and property developer mates. Yes Mr Deputy Speaker I know that you will agree with me because those mates have been funding the campaigns of this particular Government.Mr Key and his Government have been bystanders while the housing crisis has worsened year in year out. In Auckland house prices have risen by 87 percent in 6 years. That is an increase of $100000 from last year. A generation of future New Zealanders are now permanently locked out of the dream of owning their own home. They have been locked out by Mr Key and this sad group of National MPs. More and more Pacific people are now locked out of ever owning their own house under this National Government—Hon Members: We’re not sad.Su’a WILLIAM SIO: I wanted to say something else Mr Deputy Speaker but I knew that you would pull me up if I did use those words. Any New Zealanders who find themselves unable to afford their first home today—their first home—according to the Office for Senior Citizens they will be poorer still when they retire without that particular asset. And while Mr Key and his Government continue to deny that there is a housing crisis house prices and residential rents continue to rise. The average Auckland house price will hit $1 million by next year while residential rents have jumped again by 6.3 percent to a median rent of—Kris Faafoi: They’re happy with that.Su’a WILLIAM SIO: Absolutely they are happy with that. More and more middle-income earners will never be able to buy their first home at those particular prices. How can they when middle-income earners have to front up with a 20 percent deposit before they can even secure a mortgage? That will push more and more lower-income earners into homeless situations of living in cars caravans garages and boarding houses. And what is National’s response to the housing crisis? Sell off those State houses—sell off those State houses. New Zealanders expected a plan to build more houses; instead all they are hearing from this Government is: “Sell off those State houses.”So far this Government has had every opportunity to do something meaningful to fix the housing crisis but it has not. It has not done anything meaningful or genuine to address the housing crisis. Yes it has tinkered around the edges of the crisis with half-baked policies. That tinkering has not halted the housing crisis. Every week there is a line of people applying to Housing New Zealandfor housing. They get turned away. They are told to go down to the Ministry of Social Development. They go down there and they are told: “You are eligible.” They go back to Housing New Zealand and it says: “Well we have got you on a list but you are not a priority applicant.” Every week there is a Housing New Zealand tenant being evicted by Housing New Zealand. In fact I have had cases where upon the death of parents Housing New Zealand was quick to notify the children that they would be evicted. In one case Housing New Zealand sent that eviction notice before the children had a chance to bury their parent. The lines to emergency housing offered by community social services continue to lengthen. Government tinkering in special housing areas has been an absolute failure; the special housing areas have just not worked. They managed about 170 houses in a year and a half but we are still short by 20000 houses. The Government needed 13000 houses just to keep up with population growth.Earlier I heard a National MP in this debate say that this legislation was to provide flexible options to New Zealanders. He said it was about getting the right house to the right person at the right time. What does that mean for goodness’ sake? I think what it means is: it is market speak. It means that it is up to market forces whether a person gets a house or whether they are ever housed at all. It means this Government is washing its hands of every New Zealander in a homeless situation. It means this Government does not want to take responsibility for New Zealanders who need a home of their own. This Government is selling off our publicly owned State assets to its private sector investor mates. Not to the Salvation Army or the Methodist Mission or community groups with a social conscience—it is selling them off to its investor mates.Remember how the Government couched the sell-off of State assets? It said that it would sell them off to mum and dad investors. That was a load of crock. That is the same technique that it is using tonight to cover up the fact that our State houses will be sold off to its property investor mates—the same mates who have been funding their campaign activities for the last 7 years. This is their payback. This is what it means when those members say that the bill is about flexible purchasing. It gives the Minister flexibility to flog off billions of State houses to the National Party’s developer mates. The biggest deception and con job of all is National’s State house sell-off. Most New Zealanders are wondering how on earth selling off State houses to developers and property investors will give them a home. It will not.This bill completely wrecks Housing New Zealand as we know it. The Government has got rid of the policy development feature of that particular ministry. It has got rid of people who managed tenants. Instead the tenants are faced with an 0800 number. You cannot talk to a real person when you are in need of a home. You are fobbed off in the line at the Ministry of Social Development youfobbed off in the line at Housing New Zealand and you are put in another line for the 0800 number. How on earth do people advance themselves when this Government keeps adding lines and making it difficult for people who want houses?This bill merrily transfers the responsibility onto the private sector and onto the market. The Government is going to tell people to go and find a house in the market. There is no help for them there. How on earth can people on the minimum wage afford the median rent of $420? On the minimum income you are earning about $500 gross. Less tax how do they afford the median rent of $420? These buggers—I will start using that word now—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: No.Su’a WILLIAM SIO: OK I will not use it. These people—these nasty people—have no care whatsoever for the plight of people in need. It is a basic human right to have a house. It is enshrined in international conventions. It is needed and yet somehow by introducing this bill the Government goes away making itself feel good that it is doing something. But it is not doing anything.All that this bill reaffirms in my mind and in the minds of many people in South Auckland watching and listening to this group here is that the Government continues to deny not only that there is a housing crisis but also that its legislation will deny every hard-working New Zealander the opportunity of either owning their own home or the opportunity of being in warm accommodation where they can house their children. What I foresee as a result of this legislation are more people in homeless situations more people forced to live in caravans more people forced to live in boarding houses more people forced to live in cars and more people forced to live in garages. That is the kind of legacy that this Government is leaving behind because under this legislation there is no long-term vision that will ensure that every New Zealander is able to aspire to own their own home and can achieve that. There is no legacy here to allow for every hard-working New Zealander on a minimum wage to be able to secure for themselves warm comfortable affordable rental accommodation—not under this legislation and none whatsoever under this National Government.