O'Rourke Denis: Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Rourke Denis: Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3670. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENIS O’ROURKE (NZ First): This bill needs a very serious title I think because it is a pretty serious issue that it covers. I think we should take it seriously and I believe that the title needs to be actually a lot longer even though it is quite a long title already. In particular it must be descriptive of the content of what is in the bill.So I would like to propose a more accurate title. It will be a bit longer but I think it will be worth the extra words. It would be the “Measures to Make the National-led Government’s Appalling Record on Housing Reform Since 2008 Even Worse Bill” because I think that is actually fundamentally what this bill does.The title could be longer of course because there are other things in it that show how bad this legislation is. For example it could refer to measures to reduce housing stock in New Zealand because that is one of the most obvious effects of this particular piece of legislation and the principal Act that it amends. Secondly it could refer to encouraging higher rents and house prices because that is also what it does and that is of course for the benefit of selected private housing providers and nobody else in the community. Rentals are far far too high already and the rate of increase is far too great. Thirdly it could refer to a failure by this Government to improve rental house quality over the 7 years it has so far been in power. The quality of rental homes has not improved. Little or nothing is being done about that and this bill fails to address it. So the title could also be as another alternative for example the “Measures to Reduce Rental Housing Stock Increase Rents and Ensure No Improvement in Private Rental Home Quality Bill” because that would also be a very descriptive title for this legislation.Another alternative might be the “Housing (Weasel Words) Bill” because I do not think I have ever heard so many weasel words in a piece of legislation itself and in the descriptions around it. I want to refer to just three of them.First of all is the term “housing independence”. What does that really mean? “Housing independence” really means being abandoned to the rigours of a dysfunctional rental market. That is actually what we are talking about when the Government refers to housing independence.Another word that is often used in relation to this bill is “flexibility”. I think that really means that Ministers through the excessive powers given to them in this bill to give directions will be empowered to do dodgy deals behind closed doors with a variety of housing providers.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! I am sorry—[Interruption] It is my responsibility to look at the member.Jacinda Ardern: I was blocking the view.DENIS O’ROURKE: OK. The third term is “tailored contract”. I think that what that means is that some will get privileges and provisions that others will not get. There will be no transparency and there will not be a level playing field so I do not think that is a particularly good term to use either and yet it is one that is bandied about the Chamber without any real attempt to define what it is.Finally another possible title for this bill could be the “Suppression of Housing Demand Bill” because that is the whole thrust of both the principal Act and this amendment to it. The suppression of housing demand really means pushing people out of State houses who should not be pushed or bullied out of State housing. In fact many such people should actually be encouraged into State housing as a good secure housing solution for them. It will make it too hard in the future for people to get a State house. That has been a problem for a long time. This legislation will make it worse.I have suggested at least three ways in which the title to this bill could be improved and I would be happy to support a change to any one of them.