4. Special Housing Areas—EfficacyMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) to the Prime MinisterSpecial Housing Areas—Efficacy4. METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green) to the Prime Minister: Ka tū a ia i runga i te mana o āna kaupapa here Kāwanatanga katoa nē?[Does he stand by all his Government's policies?]Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes. I have the privilege of leading a Government that is ambitious for New Zealand's future and our policies reflect that ambition.Metiria Turei: Does he stand by his special housing areas (SHAs) policy in Auckland now it has proven to be an abject failure?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The failure really was the metropolitan urban limit in Auckland that choked off land supply which I am sure was one of the real lefty ideas that the Greens were promoting.Metiria Turei: Does the Minister agree with Nick Smith that special housing areas are about helping Kiwi families to realise the dream of owning their own home."; if so how many Kiwi families are realising that dream in the 97 Auckland SHAs with no home building going on in them?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: In answer to the first part of the question yes and if the member wants me to I am more than happy to read out the statistics. Metiria Turei: And the 97?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: OK so the member does want me to. All right. As of 30 June 2016 in Auckland the advice my office has is that 1300 homes have been completed 2200 building consents have been issued 2458 sections have been created and 7170 sections have been granted resource consent. Of the 154 special housing areas in Auckland 26 have been built on 15 have earthworks and 88 are in some stage of planning process. Only 25 have no consent or plan change lodged but 16 of those were declared between February and May of this year. I think most people would acknowledge that a special housing area is a way of fast-tracking the development of these properties but they still need to have Resource Management Act consent they still have to have horizontal infrastructure they still need to—Grant Robertson: You've been there for 8 years.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well we did not have them 8 years ago Phil. What we had was the metropolitan urban limit which we inherited from your lefty mates. Metiria Turei: Is the Prime Minister defending the special housing areas policy where 97 of those areas have no homebuilding on them to date because it was always his intention that this policy was designed to support the property speculators and the land-bankers?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is quite incorrect and in fact the data I have given to the House is correct. But what I do not support is the hard-working young couple who go out and buy a house who borrow money against the equity that they have put down only to see that house price halve. That member has launched a war on the poor. She is saying to the poorest New Zealanders who are borrowing money against their property that she wants to see them owing the bank more than their house is worth. I think there is a reason why the Greens' numbers are tumbling and that is because people can see that. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I am just waiting for a little more silence from my left.Metiria Turei: When the Prime Minister said in April last year that the special housing area land-bankers would be getting a terse letter from Nick Smith does he think they were suitably chastised? Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Given that only a very small proportion either do not have planning under way earthworks under way or building on them I would say that special housing areas have been highly effective actually as a way of releasing land. There will be one or two that do not go ahead—it was never guaranteed that they would but what was guaranteed was that they would allow process to happen more rapidly and that is exactly what is happening. What the member is trying to tell New Zealanders is that at the moment that the Minister of Housing designates an area a special housing area—Metiria Turei: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It simply is not for the Prime Minister to tell the public what I am saying in answer to my question. He has answered my question. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: No—[Interruption] Order! I think the point is that the question was relatively short and the answer addressed the question almost immediately. There is no need to continue with a lengthy answer.Metiria Turei: So now that the housing areas have failed—[Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I have the question please.Metiria Turei: Yes thank you Mr Speaker. So—[Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! Less interjection. I am inviting now the question to be asked.Metiria Turei: So now that the special housing areas policy in Auckland has failed is sending terse letters to land-bankers and property speculators going to be the new centrepiece of his comprehensive housing plan?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well firstly I think we can see that special housing areas are a success because houses are being built and development is taking place. But I will give the member a clue of what a terse letter would look like: "Dear Mr and Mrs Bloggs of Auckland. I know you borrowed $450000 from the ANZ against your $100000 worth of equity—or $150000—in your $600000 property. But now Metiria Turei has managed to turn that into a $300000 property and therefore could you sell your property with no equity left." That is what a 50 percent reduction in house prices would look like. It is a war—Mr SPEAKER: Bring the answer to a conclusion.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: —on the poor.David Seymour: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I would invite you to reflect on Standing Order 380(1) which asks that questions do not needlessly include facts and do not include inferences or arguments beyond what is necessary to make the question intelligible. That is a Standing Order that this member has been violating all through question time.Mr SPEAKER: The member is strictly correct. I am relatively liberal when I interpret that when allowing questions but when a question starts as the last one did with "Now that that the particular policy has failed" I give a very wide licence in the answer that may then be given by the Prime Minister or a Minister."