11. H V ROSS ROBERTSON (Labour—Manukau East) Link to this
to the Minister for Building Issues
How many additional centres will receive face-to-face tenancy services as a result of the enhancements announced last week?
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister for Building Issues) Link to this
Face-to-face tenancy services will be available at 67 locations nationwide. This is 22 more than today. These 22 new locations include, to name but a few: Kaitāia, Kaikohe, Helensville, Te Puke, Tākaka, Balclutha, and Cromwell. Clients will continue to receive face-to-face advice and mediation at all existing Tenancy Services locations.
H V Ross Robertson Link to this
Can the Minister outline to the House what these enhanced services are? [ Interruption]
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE Link to this
Hold on, help is on the way. Tenants and landlords will have the option to resolve straightforward disputes within 24 hours through a new telephone mediation service. Mobile mediators will be able to travel to locations to provide face-to-face mediation, rather than have people travel to their nearest office. In addition, expanded Internet services will allow people the option to make online applications 24 hours a day, and to pay online by credit card. As I have said, this is a huge increase in access for New Zealand.
Anne TolleyCan the Minister confirm the advice of his department that these changes mean that the Gisborne office of Tenancy Services will close and there will be no staff in our region; and how can he have the audacity to claim that this is an enhancement of services for landlords and tenants in Gisborne?
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE Link to this
I am advised that no existing offices will close, including Gisborne’s.
H V Ross Robertson Link to this
Has the Minister seen any response from the sector groups following his announcement?
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE Link to this
Yes. The Real Estate Institute, the Tenants Protection Association, and the Property Investors Federation—these are the stakeholders that actually use the service—have welcomed these changes. The Real Estate Institute publicly stated that it appreciated the opportunity to be involved in the design of the new service delivery changes, and that it believed these changes will ensure a more consistent service throughout the country. The Tenants Protection Association indicated that the different service delivery approaches, including Internet and phone services, will be beneficial. Finally, the Property Investors Federation indicated that the new-look Tenancy Services will alleviate many difficulties faced by landlords.
Craig FossHow can the Minister claim that these changes are an enhancement of services, when they involve cuts of a third in Hawke’s Bay Tenancy Services staff; and is it little wonder that Labour’s support plummeted in places like Gisborne, Timaru, Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua, and Whangarei when it has got Ministers who believe that disputes between landlords and tenants can be resolved via centralised 0800 phone and Internet services from Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington?
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE Link to this
Currently, Tenancy Services employs 75 people in 22 locations. Staff numbers will go up, overall, to 77. I say again to that member, because he has misunderstood, that the issue is that the SWIFTT 24-hour phone service is an option and the Internet service is an option. We have extended into 67 locations, and face-to-face, mobile Tenancy Services will be made available, with an appointment, in those locations. Going up to 67 locations—22 additional—I would call an enhancement. The stakeholders who actually use the service—both tenants and landlords—agree.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
Has not the Minister’s spin doctoring got a little out of control, when these changes mean that there will be cuts in staff in Whangarei, Rotorua, Tauranga, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson, Dunedin, and Timaru, and a centralised service in the main centres; and does he think these changes reflect the statement made by the Prime Minister after Labour took a pasting in the provincial seats that there was an important message that Labour Ministers needed to take on board?
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE Link to this
I repeat that currently Tenancy Services employs 75 people in 22 locations. All of these offices will remain open. The decisions will have an impact on staff, with the location and nature of some roles changing. A small number of administrative staff and mediators will be affected. A number of new positions are being created, and affected staff will be encouraged to apply for them. Staff numbers, overall, will go up to 77. There may be a small number of staff who are surplus. Some staff will choose to take redeployment; others will not. The total overall number goes up by two. I will say finally to Dr Smith that instead of hawking a draft document that he got under the Official Information Act—a draft staff consultation document that had no final decisions in it—and trying to do his own spin, he should have taken advantage of the briefing that the member for Kaikoura was offered a month ago and he would have been better briefed. He chose not to; he chose to play politics.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Mr Peter McGowan of the department confirmed to me on the phone this morning that the Gisborne office of Tenancy Services would be closing. That contradicts the view that has been expressed by the Minister, and I wonder whether he would like to clarify that for the House. It seems strange to me that a member of the staff would say one thing to me, and the Minister would say something different in the House.
Madam SPEAKERHon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I seek the leave of the House to table the Department of Building and Housing report on Tenancy Services changes, which was obtained by the very competent new member for Kaikoura.
Gerry BrownleeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. You have just said that the situation outlined by Dr Smith, where a departmental officer tells us on the phone, as part of our process of verifying questions, that something is going to happen, then the Minister turns up in the House and says it is not, is not a point of order. It is almost like the Chris Carter situation before, whereby there is a selective use of facts, perhaps, or even a complete misrepresentation of what is fact. How are we supposed to get right to the nub of things if Ministers simply want to make up an answer to get them off the spot at the time they are in the House?