3. State and Social Housing—Emergency Housing and Supply of State and Social HousingPHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social HousingState and Social Housing—Emergency Housing and Supply of State and Social Housing3. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Minister for Social Housing: Will she confirm that as of 30 June the Government has only delivered 323 of the additional 1400 emergency beds they promised at the start of November last year?Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister for Social Housing: No but what I will confirm is that in November last year we announced our goal to deliver 2150 places by the end of this year and as at 30 June we have delivered 1123 of those places. We have also acquired a further 151 which are in the process of being readied for tenants. As of today the number is 1423 places supporting 5700 families per year.Phil Twyford: Will she confirm that the Government budgeted $2 million for emergency special needs grants to put people up in motels but spent $8 million in the first quarter $9 million in the second quarter $13 million in the third quarter and at current rates will spend $50 million over the year?Hon PAULA BENNETT: As was said about June last year—and actually by the member's party itself: it was quite distressed that there were people who were going into motels which had been happening by the way for decades in emergency situations and those beneficiaries themselves were expected to pick up the bill yeah? So we did do something about it. We are picking up the bill for those who go into those motels. Because we were the first Government to actually do something about people who needed emergency places we did not know how much it would cost in total but we are picking up the bill for those who are most disadvantaged.Phil Twyford: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I genuinely asked the Minister to confirm some expenditure levels over those years. I was not sort of seeking a general narrative about the issue.Mr SPEAKER: Order! No and I appreciate that the member may have found it hard to hear the answer. I listened very carefully to the answer and it addressed the question: because it is such a new initiative it is difficult to establish the funding that might be required. If the member's own colleague could cooperate and allow the member to hear the answer I am sure he would have realised the question was addressed.Phil Twyford: Will she confirm that when the Government came into office in 2008 it owned—Hon Dr Nick Smith: House prices have doubled—house prices have just doubled.Phil Twyford: It was a long time ago.Mr SPEAKER: Order!Phil Twyford: Will she confirm—Mr SPEAKER: Order! No I am going to invite the member to start his question again and without interjection coming from my right.Phil Twyford: Will she confirm that when the Government came into office in 2008 it owned 69173 State houses and it now owns 64068—a reduction of more than 5000?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I believe the number is more than that but what I will say is that we also now have social housing community providers that own homes which the Government has on the whole funded—has paid partly towards the capital and is picking up the rent each week. Actually that member might like to go back to his own speech from a couple of years ago when he actually suggested that community housing providers get to have homes themselves and rent them out to poor people and that the Government picks up the bill. So he should be saying thank you—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is little point in carrying on with the answer now because I cannot hear it.Phil Twyford: I have got plenty of other good policies the Minister could have—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Could we just have the supplementary question; otherwise I am happy to move on.Phil Twyford: Will she confirm that according to the Ministry of Social Development's latest quarterly report there are only 66068 social houses including those provided by community providers which is some 3000 fewer than the number of State houses when her Government came to office?Hon PAULA BENNETT: There are more social houses; they are just not all owned by the Government. There are indications of that if you look at Tāmaki and what is happening there and if you look at others that are going on. I think the numbers that the member has are out of date but I am sure that if he puts down a written question we can get all of those most up to date for him.Phil Twyford: Will she confirm that her briefing as the incoming Minister said that the Government has since 2008 taken $1.8 billion out of Housing New Zealand in dividends tax and interest payments?Hon PAULA BENNETT: The incoming briefing may have said that but what it should also have said if it did not was the billions of extra dollars beyond that that we have put into social housing both through capital spend and equally through the income-related rents for those who need it most.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why does the Minister not admit that this is the worst housing outcome under National exacerbated by a record 73000 net immigration exacerbated by 226000 work visas and exacerbated by the fact that we have got the lowest house ownership in 63 years and Māori house ownership is down by 38 percent under her?Hon PAULA BENNETT: No I will not. I know that the member would like to take us back to some mythical good old days but actually I will back this country where it is at with the growth that is happening here over that member any day.Phil Twyford: Why will she not admit that she is spending $140000 a day putting homeless people up in motels because her Government has sold off so much State housing has failed to build enough new ones and has allowed the housing crisis to get totally out of control?Hon PAULA BENNETT: I know that that member would like to pretend that we have only had homelessness in the last few years but actually just this week we look at the gentleman who is on the streets and says he has been there for 26 years—which by the way was through your Government's time as well—and unfortunately he thinks he will be there a lot less. He is a man who has now got a home but was homeless for three decades. I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think I am being quite generous in giving my answers and I would appreciate it if I could at least do that without being constantly—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! That is not an unreasonable request. There is one particular person who should know better who continues to interject at a very loud level. If the member Phil Twyford is going to take the opportunity to ask a supplementary question I think his own colleagues owe him the decency of allowing at least Phil Twyford to hear the answer.Hon PAULA BENNETT: As I was saying we have a man who has actually been unfortunately homeless for three decades but has now found a house under this Government. We also have another man who has been homeless for 33 years but thanks to the help of this Government now has a home. The reality is that we have had to pick up those who were left behind under a Labour Government many years ago.