Paraone PitaPITA PARAONE (NZ First): Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. I am taking a call for New Zealand First on behalf of our spokesperson on this matter Denis O'Rourke. It is surprising that the Government itself has not done a lot more to make tenancies more secure and to try to limit the rate of rent increases. It is fundamental to improving the ability of people in this country to find a home. If they cannot actually afford to buy one—and more and more people will never be able to afford one as a result of this Government's policies—you will have to be able to afford to rent one. The quality of rentals becomes more important if it has to be a lifetime issue. Rents must be affordable rather than simply market-based.My colleague read a book by Shamubeel Eaqub called Generation Rent and it describes the differences between New Zealand's rental market and legislation and those of other countries with much better-developed rental markets and much better legislation. It identifies that there are three main differences. One is fair rents. The Government needs to regulate rents especially where landlords have been profiteering and especially in Auckland because of the severe housing crisis there. There the market has failed rents have exploded people were hurt they are living in cars and the Government has done little more than make some inadequate provisions for emergency housing.Secondly New Zealand does not have secure tenancies in comparison with what you see in other countries. New Zealand's tenancies tend to be short term and tenants have very little protection against eviction. It is too easy to get rid of tenants in this country so that they do not have another home to go to. More long-term tenancies are going to be needed because people will not be able to afford to buy their own home. The Government needs to do a lot more to encourage that but again nothing is being done.Thirdly there is the question of the quality of rental properties. Much more must be done to improve the quality of rental properties so that people have a genuine alternative to owning their own homes and we are not seeing that. We are not seeing improvements in heating standards. We are also not seeing improvements in weatherproofing. Damp homes and draughty homes are killers leading to a range of health issues which can be avoided by having simple and basic requirements for leakproofing adequate ventilation and draught-proofing. The purpose and the aim of this bill is to strengthen tenants' rights and promote secure long-term tenancies. This in itself is not enough but it is the right thing to do. New Zealand First will support the bill to select committee. Looking through the main provisions the removal of tenants' responsibilities for letting fees etc.—the principal Act provides that every tenancy agreement shall show minimum information. Then there are the statements in tenancy agreements. The bill provides that when the tenancy terminates the agreement must give the existing tenant the right to renew the tenancy. We also regard this as being appropriate. It is a way in which longer-term and more secure tenancies can be supported. But probably the most important provision in the agreement that the bill requires is a statement of the criteria that the landlord must use to calculate any future rent increase. The bill also says that the rent may be increased provided that it shall not be increased within 180 days after the date on which the last increase took effect.Lastly there is the issue of termination by notice. The principal Act sets out the various periods of notice to be given by a landlord to tenants in order to end a tenancy. Overall New Zealand First is happy to see the bill go to select committee and to hear what submitters have to say on this bill. Kia ora.