7. Question No. 7—HousingNICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 7—Housing7. NICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Housing: Does she have confidence in the leadership of Kāinga Ora; if so who if anyone has been held accountable for its decision to use taxpayer funds to publish an election-year advertisement featuring a soon-to-be-announced Labour Party candidate?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing) (remote): In answer to the first part of the question yes. In regard to the OneRoof article I made it clear to Kāinga Ora that it did not meet my expectations of Public Service neutrality and that's why I communicated to them on 3 August to convey that the conduct did not meet those expectations for how Kāinga Ora should operate. It's also why I asked the Public Service Commissioner to investigate on 11 November when I became aware of another example of minimisation within Kāinga Ora in relation to this matter. On that same day I made it crystal clear to both the chair and the chief executive of Kāinga Ora that the organisation was not meeting my expectations about how seriously it needs to take its duty on public sector neutrality. In answer to the second part of the question as is appropriate I am holding the board accountable to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I note that in his report the Public Service Commissioner found that Kāinga Ora now fully accepts that its response should have been handled better has provided evidence of improvements in its training and processes and has acknowledged that there is further work to be done. I expect Kāinga Ora to improve the culture of understanding of how it is part of the broader Public Service and what that means for staff employed within the organisation. And I will be receiving regular reporting of this work. The chair has indicated to me that he and the board are fully committed to meeting this expectation.Nicola Willis: Well does she think it's acceptable that despite her communication in August that it hadn't met her expectations when these issues hit the media in November a senior general manager at Kāinga Ora said in an email to his colleagues—that I've obtained and I quote—I don't like the implication of apology from us when we did no wrong."?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I have been clear throughout I was not satisfied with the way that Kāinga Ora handled this situation—it is why as soon as I saw a series of emails I asked the Public Service Commissioner to investigate this matter.Nicola Willis: Does she continue to have confidence in the chief executive of Kāinga Ora when even after she has made her expectations crystal clear he wrote to the senior communications adviser at the heart of this matter stating—and I quote from his email—"As I am sure you will have been told the judgment call you made was fine […] I am happy to stand behind you on it. This little maelstrom will pass quickly I just hope it doesn't make you too risk averse!"?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes I do have confidence in the chief executive. I also have confidence in the report produced from the Public Service Commissioner who said in paragraph 45—and I noted this—"We considered that late last year Kāinga Ora was still maintaining a position that minimised the issues and contained some errors about key facts demonstrated a misunderstanding of the principle of political neutrality at all levels within the organisation and how it should have operated in this context. That is no longer the case. Kāinga Ora now fully accepts that its response should have been handled better has provided evidence of improvement in training and processes and has acknowledged there is further work to be done which it is committed to following through." I asked for this to be investigated and I take the conclusions of that investigation seriously.Nicola Willis: Was the chief executive of Kāinga Ora correct to say in an email of 11 November that "The key issue for the Minister is the comments in your emails rather than the decision per se."?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: What the chief executive was conveying to a staff member I expect was that I took issue with some of the language that was used in emails that I saw as a result of an Official Information Act (OIA) request that came across my desk. As soon as I saw that Official Information Act request I contacted Kāinga Ora and let them know that it was well below my expectations and that it simply was impossible to un-know something once it was known. I do note however that that member sat on that OIA for several weeks before she did anything about it. SPEAKER: Does the member want a supplementary?Nicola Willis: Yes thank you.SPEAKER: Well the member might ask her colleagues to be quiet.Nicola Willis: Why does Andrew McKenzie remain the chief executive of Kāinga Ora when he has failed to ensure his organisation understood basic standards of Public Service neutrality and when despite explicit warnings from her as Minister and the chairman of Kāinga Ora he continued to stand by such obviously wrong decisions by his senior staff?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I have indicated in an answer to a previous question I have confidence in the chief executive of Kāinga Ora and I have further confidence reinforced from the report that I asked the Public Service Commissioner to carry out who notes that there is clear evidence that there has been an improvement in processes. He notes that the chief executive and the management team have owned that this was not handled properly and—importantly for me—that they are focused on fixing this.Nicola Willis: Why did Helen O'Sullivan resign from the Kāinga Ora board in November shortly after these issues became public and just nine months into the job and does the Minister share my concern that O'Sullivan left because she no longer wanted to be associated with this failing organisation?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In answer to the second part of the question I utterly reject the assertion that the member has made. I don't have to make assumptions because I was told by Helen O'Sullivan herself and communicated also through the chair that she'd accepted another board appointment that was in conflict with her role on the Kāinga Ora board."