Faafoi Kris: Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFaafoi Kris: Social Housing Reform (Flexible Purchasing and Remedial Matters) Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3642. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana): It is a privilege to take a call on Part 2 of this bill. Ever since this Government took office it has been shaving away the functions of Housing New Zealand and clauses 20 and 21 of this bill continue that trend. Clauses 20 and 21 remove some of the objectives and the functions of the corporation that we colloquially know as Housing New Zealand. This continues as I said the trend that this Government has had for some time with Housing New Zealand. If we go back to the very start of the first shavings of the functions that are featured in clauses 20 and 21 I think that may have been the 0800 number that Housing New Zealand used to operate but then when there were waiting times of 2 to 3 hours or even 4 hours for some of the customers waiting for an answer to some of their basic questions there was a certain level of frustration. So that was the first change and the first shaving away of a function becausethere were fewer front-line staff.Speaking as a local MP in the electorate of Mana I say that the next shaving of function was the removal of a front desk in the city. So we went from a city with a considerable number of State housing tenants a high demand and a high capacity through that office to a situation where there was no front desk for the people of Porirua to go to and do their business. This was just not on in a city the size of Porirua and with the number of State house tenants. Clauses 20 and 21 of this bill just continue that trend of neglect for Housing New Zealand. The fact that this Government is taking away those objectives and those functions from Housing New Zealand in a way says that this Government does not want the story to be told of what is going to be the outcome of this piece of legislation.I said at the beginning of my speech that it is a privilege to speak to Part 2. Sometimes people say that just to fill in a bit of time but it is a privilege because no one else in New Zealand apart from members of this Parliament gets to scrutinise this piece of legislation. It is being rushed through under urgency and some pretty basic questions about the functions and objectives should be asked of this Government by people from outside this House. I am thinking about the people who live on Warspite Avenue on Commerce Crescent on Arahura Crescent on Driver Crescent in my electorate who want to know what is changing in this piece of legislation and what will change in their lives.These functions of Housing New Zealand are changing in clause 20 and 21 so who will be their landlord? It is a pretty basic question from someone sitting out in the community: who will be their landlord now? In the past it has been Housing New Zealand and now it is a mixture of the Ministry of Social Development and Housing New Zealand but with the functions changing in Part 2 who is going to be their landlord? What kind of rent are they now going to pay? What kind of tenancy are they going to have now? What happens to their children? What happens to their schooling? Are they safe in their community? These are all the kinds of questions that needed to be asked in a select committee process but this Government will not do that and has not even bothered to answer any of these questions in this Committee stage.These are major changes in clauses 20 and 21 and as I say they continue the trend of this Government having to wash its hands of any responsibility of social housing in New Zealand. I grew up in a State house as well but I do not want to be a political hypocrite—I do not want to be a political hypocrite. I want to come to this House and make sure we care for and build on some of the things that I had that were the very building bricks of the success that I have had today to make sure that the generations that follow can have what we have had. But no this Government wants to take that away. Clauses 20 and 21 are just another chapter in this long history of this Government basically wanting to get rid of Housing New Zealand and to have nothing at all to do with making sure there are affordable homes for the most vulnerable Kiwis in this country. Because if the market will not supply it who should? The answer from that side of the Chamber is “not us”. But on this side of the Chamber we know there is a responsibility and that is why we will build on social housing when we are in Government next.