Sio William: Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeSio William: Social Housing Reform (Transaction Mandate) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 18 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5913. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Su’a WILLIAM SIO (Labour—Māngere): Earlier tonight in the Legislative Council Chamber I joined with my Labour Party colleagues and other members of the Opposition to welcome representatives of families of the workers who have died in work-related accidents in the last 5 years including those who died in the Pike River tragedy. I want to acknowledge them. One of the questions that a speaker raised there was that they were promised by this Government and by this Prime Minister that legislation would come into this House that would ensure protection for all workers and they feel—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order! That is not part of the debate.Su’a WILLIAM SIO: —that that promise has not been kept. I raise that Mr Assistant Speaker because that is the question that New Zealanders need to ask of Government members when they listen to their speeches on this particular bill and the promises that they are making that this bill will enable more social community providers to provide more social housing. What they are promising New Zealanders is that under this bill by selling off State houses more social housing is to be provided to New Zealanders.We have heard tonight that the Minister for Social Housing made that promise by saying that this bill gives her and another Minister exclusive powers to sell thousands of houses in the current housing stock to the private sector. Those members say “community housing providers” but we know that that is not what is intended. They are not being straight with New Zealanders. When they use the words “community housing providers” we think it is going to be the Salvation Army but that is not true. We think it is going to be the Methodist Mission but that is not true. What is true is that they have been talking to property investors—property investors not only in New Zealand but also in Australia. So when they say “community housing providers” it is the property investors whom they intend to sell these houses to. So I ask New Zealanders as they listen to this to remember the promise that was given to the Pike River families and to ask themselves whether they can trust this Government in making the similar promises that it now makes to New Zealanders in regard to the provision of social housing.The regulatory impact statement on this bill will give listeners a bit of an idea of the incompetency of this Government. It says: “The proposals have been prepared in a short timeframe … they have been prepared without precise information about the form of the transfers transactions and HNZC’s future role in the social housing market …”. The future of the social housing market under this Government’s legislation is that it is going to destroy Housing New Zealand as we know it. It is destroying a tradition that has existed since 1905 when from thence forward the Government of the time and subsequent Governments agreed that there was a right for every new citizen of this country to be housed. It was a basic fundamental right. That right is enshrined in international covenants. Subsequent Governments have upheld that.In 1970 we continued under the Labour Government the provision of social housing because of that belief that it was a basic and fundamental right that every New Zealander should be housed in a house that was affordable in a house that was warm and in a house that was safe for families.What does a conservative Government that has existed—what has been its attitude towards the provisions of social housing? As far as we go back every time there has been a conservative Government that has come into power it is its belief that it should sell off State housing. It is its belief that the private sector should rule. The same thing happened also in the 1990s when the former National Government did the same.But this Government now is going to go further. So what is it going to do? It will give Ministers Bennett and English the exclusive power to sell off State houses. Who will they sell them to? Here is what the Government says: it is part of its social reform strategy. If you look at the first point that the Government makes it establishes “the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) as the single purchaser of social housing …”. What does that mean? No longer will you have Housing New Zealand providing social housing. In the second point it says “growing Community Housing Providers (CHPs) through MSD’s contracting and transfers of Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) stock;”. What does that mean? It is going to sell off the housing stock to property investors.Another point is “making Income Related Rent Subsidies (IRRS) available to non-government CHPs to help those providers to grow;”. What does that mean? It is going to subsidise landlords and property investors to provide this particular service. The final part that it says this legislation provides is “housing more families by making better use of HNZC land”. What does that mean? It is selling off land that is currently owned by Housing New Zealand into the private sector.But this is what the disclosure statement prepared by Treasury says—that this legislation is unprecedented. These are new powers—new powers—that it is giving its Ministers because not only are the Ministers not accountable to Housing New Zealand or the board but they are accountable to only themselves.Where does the money go from selling the stock and from selling the land that belongs to Housing New Zealand? It does not go back to the Housing New Zealand board; it goes into the Crown entity’s bank account. What does it get used for? Certainly it does not indicate anything about the provision of more social housing.The Government has not been straight with New Zealanders when it introduced this legislation. That is why I said that the promise that it made to the Pike River families is a similar promise to the one that it is making today to New Zealanders. People need to be asking themselves whether they can trust this Government to keep its word. I say no. I say if you base it on its track record so far there is no way that selling off State houses will ensure that there is greater provision of social housing to those in need.One of the Government members at least acknowledged that there is a role for the State in the provision of this. But once a State house with a tenant is sold to the private sector do we imagine that the landlord is going to fix up the heater when it breaks down? Do we imagine that the landlord is going to replace the carpet if it is ruined? Do we imagine that the landlord is going to keep that house warm so that the children living there are free from any sicknesses and illnesses? If we go by the track record of most landlords that is not going to happen—based on the complaints that our offices receive.The other day I was in the electorate of Botany. I took Andrew Little there and we visited the Salvation Army in Howick. I imagine that when we talk about Howick—it is an affluent part of our society in Manukau. But this is what the Salvation Army said to us: of all the issues that it is now facing in a wealthy part of South Auckland in Howick housing is No. 2 after the loneliness of that generally older population. It is now seeing more and more people being in housing situations where they are renting a garage which does not have insulation and does not have any warmth. It also said that it is surprised by the number of people who are now in homeless situations and the Salvation Army is having to find homes for them.That is the kind of condition that this Government has established for New Zealand in the last 7 years. It will continue along that pathway based on this legislation. Yes Government members can say all they want about helping the poor but this piece of legislation does not do that.I want to finally finish off. Most of us would have campaigned and walked around and at one time or another would have stood on dog tae tae. If you imagine standing on that we have often had the experience of trying to clean it off. It does not go away—it stays. I would say that when this Government passes this piece of legislation New Zealanders will for ever remember it is this Government that is selling off Housing New Zealand homes and the stench is going to stick with it for ever.I want to finally say—farmers will appreciate this. Farmers have a saying “It does not matter how much perfume you pour on pig shit it still stinks”. That is why despite Government members’ flowery words this piece of legislation will hurt ordinary New Zealanders.