Twyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTwyford Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 30 June 2015. Volume:707;Page:4843. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū)to the Minister responsible for HNZC: Does he still intend to sell 1000 to 2000 Housing New Zealand houses by January 2016 and that “houses will not be transferred unless tenants get better services and taxpayers get fair and reasonable value”?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Acting Minister responsible for HNZC):In January the Prime Minister said: “These areas”—the areas where we will transfer the first houses—“will be determined after engagement and consultation including with community housing providers and iwi to ensure we understand everyone’s rights and interests. We’ll then look to sell between 1000 and 2000 Housing New Zealand properties over the following year for use as social housing run by approved community housing providers.” So it is unlikely to be by January 2016 but it is by the timetable that we had previously laid out. In answer to the second part of the question yes.Phil Twyford: Will he tell the public who the community housing providers are that the Government is considering selling to in Tauranga and Invercargill or does he agree with Paula Bennett that his policy is now so toxic that it would be a “poisoned chalice” for them?Hon PAULA BENNETT: On behalf of the Minister I certainly think that any comments like that by Paula Bennett have been taken completely out of context. So what I will say in answer to the question from the member is yes—in fact just in the last week we had more than 160 different people at meetings with Treasury about transactions. That will be made public on the website towards the end of the week.Phil Twyford: Is forcing our most vulnerable New Zealanders—including the elderly the disabled and people with mental illness—to pay their rent to an Australian company part of the compassionate conservatism he was bragging about at Budget time?Hon PAULA BENNETT: What I would say is that it seems that what the member believes is that the status quo for those very people is good enough. We do not think it is on this side of the House so we think we can provide them with better housing and better services around them. We want more of those and that is the commitment that we on this side make to those people who want it.Phil Twyford: What advice has he had that cashing up the State house portfolio in a fire sale to Australians or giving them away free to iwi will improve the Government’s books and better protect the most vulnerable New Zealanders?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Neither of those things is happening. So let me make it very very clear that neither of those things is happening. What we are looking at is doing what the very member himself has said both in this House and publicly that actually growing the community housing providers is better for vulnerable New Zealanders. That is the commitment that we make. Actually looking at building the asset base of some of those community housing providers so that they can provide better services is completely the motivation behind the work programme of this Government.Phil Twyford: Which of his three excuses so far is the most credible: that the houses are in the wrong place and the wrong size and that will be magically fixed by selling them; that the Salvation Army and iwi are keen as mustard to buy the houses; or that local groups can do a better job than Wellington but he is now selling the houses to Brisbane?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I think what needs to be clear is that there are a number of criteria that any purchaser would have to go through. One of them is having a local presence and the ability to actually look after those tenants better. So we have a number of community organisations that are actually already international organisations. They have branches throughout regional New Zealand and in our cities. That is exactly what it is. I know the member himself thinks that this is as good as it gets for those tenants; we believe that it can get better.Phil Twyford: Is he aware that the Dominion Post has described his State house sell-off as bizarre and muddled; if so will he follow Nick Smith’s example and set them straight by organising a magical mystery bus tour for the media to show them the houses that he wants to flog off to the Australians?Hon PAULA BENNETT: No I do not agree with that. What I do believe is that we are putting the interests of New Zealanders and tenants first. That member can go on and get on the sort of muddled hierarchy if he likes to but actually it is about providing better services for New Zealanders and that is exactly what we are intending to do.