Lee Melissa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLee Melissa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 08 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17680. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.MELISSA LEE (National) to theMinister of Housing: What progress is the Government making in addressing the housing supply and affordability issues particularly in Auckland and Christchurch?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Housing): Yesterday I announced with Mayor of Auckland Len Brown a further 41 special housing areas with the capacity for an additional 18000 homes. This is on top of the 22 special housing areas announced last October and December and brings the total special housing areas to 63 with the potential for over 33000-plus homes. Work has also begun on the fourth tranche which I expect to announce in August. I am also very encouraged by the latest building consent figures which show the highest new house build rate in 7 years. In Christchurch an all-time record of 3000 homes were built during the last year. In Auckland 6500 homes were built which is 40 percent up on last year. Nationally thehouse build rate has increased from 13000 per year to 23000 per year—that is with increasing economic confidence and the Government changes in the regulatory environment we are now building 10000 more houses per year.Melissa Lee: Has the Minister seen claims the Government is using Housing New Zealand as a cash cow and can the Minister say how much money the Government is giving and what it is getting in dividends since it has been in Government and how this compares with previously?Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I was just waiting to see whether you were going to rule on a question that did not have one or two legs but had four and whether that sort of question is now acceptable as a supplementary question in the House.Mr SPEAKER: I am certainly not going to rule it out. The question may have multiple legs. Many members ask supplementary questions with multiple legs. The Minister may then choose to answer just one of those.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think you will find there are multiple Speakers’ rulings that say that supplementary questions are meant to have one leg but are sometimes allowed two. That question had four legs. It is a horse and it is baying like a donkey.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. The question has been asked. I am not ruling it out.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The cash-cow claims are made by talking about only—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I cannot hear the answer because of the level of interjection that is coming from my left-hand side. It will cease.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The cash-cow claims are made by talking about only the dividend from Housing New Zealand and not the huge Government payments of over half a billion dollars a year.Phil Twyford: Rubbish!Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Let me give the member the full numbers. The Government has increased the funding for housing vulnerable families every year that we have been in Government. The Government payment to Housing New Zealand has increased by 33 percent from $474 million in 2008 to $633 million this year. It is also true that Housing New Zealand pays a dividend. The largest dividend that Housing New Zealand has ever made was $176 million.Hon Tony Ryall: When?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: In 2003. The average dividend under the 5 years so far of this Government has been $88 million. The dividend this year is $90 million.Phil Twyford: What about the net contribution? Talk about the net.Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The member asks rightly: “What’s the net?”. Let me give him the figures. The net figure under the last year of the previous Government was $341 million. The net figure averaged over the last 5 years under this Government is $478 million—$478 million more that the Government is putting into Housing New Zealand in each of the 5 years. We see the trickiness from Mr Cunliffe—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! That answer has been going on substantially too long.Melissa Lee: What progress has the Government made in negotiating further housing accords?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I have completed discussions in Christchurch and a draft accord has been agreed which is now subject to council consultation. It involves the Government partnering with the council to provide hundreds more houses for families in difficulty on top of the hundreds already being built by Housing New Zealand and the temporary villages that are already operating. The Government is looking tocontribute an additional $75 million on top of the over $1 billion that is being invested by Housing New Zealand and the millions that we have spent on temporary accommodation on temporary allowances and in growing the social housing projects with community providers. I am also in discussions on further housing accords in Wellington in the Bay of Plenty and this week I am having discussions in Queenstown. I seek leave of the House to table both sides of figures: the dividends as well as the Government contributions to Housing New Zealand since 2000 provided to me by officials.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular information. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.