10. PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) Link to this
to the Minister of Housing
When does he anticipate the nationwide roll-out of the shared equity scheme, which is to be preceded by a “targeted pilot” to be “considered for next year’s budget”, and how many New Zealanders does he expect will eventually be able to take advantage of the national scheme?
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Housing) Link to this
I would expect that the roll-out of a shared equity scheme might occur when we have completed the targeted pilot scheme, assured ourselves of the effectiveness of the scheme, and resolved any issues identified in the pilot scheme. I cannot be more specific about the timing of any roll-out at this stage because we are still in the design phase of the pilot scheme; nor can I provide figures of how many people might be able to participate in a roll-out scheme, because those are details that have not yet been decided, and, again, will be influenced by the pilot scheme.
Why is he still at the design stage of a shared equity scheme this year, then, perhaps, a pilot scheme next year, when answers to parliamentary questions say that the Government has been looking at such schemes since 2004, and the then Minister of Housing said that Labour was likely to introduce a scheme in the 2005 Budget?
Shared equity is a new model of homeownership for New Zealand. It is not full ownership; it is partial ownership, and that carries a host of new legal and technical implications. We need to test demand for this model of homeownership, and we also need to take care to introduce it in a way that does not create market distortions that defeat the purpose of the scheme. That takes time.
Jill PettisCould the Minister advise what other homeownership initiatives the Government has already introduced apart from the shared equity scheme?
The Labour-led Government has introduced the Welcome Home Loan scheme, which underwrites families on the margin of traditional bank criteria and helps them to get a home. About 2,600 households have used the scheme so far. We have also introduced the KiwiSaver scheme, which offers some first-time buyers assistance with a deposit, and provides a pathway to saving more quickly a much larger deposit on a home. We have also introduced a $2.5 million homeownership education programme, which has been rolled out across the country.
Bob ClarksonWhy is he still designing the scheme, when Helen Clark said the Government will “introduce an equity scheme in 2006” and “The Government had flagged the scheme as an election promise”—
Madam SPEAKERWhy is he still designing the scheme, when Helen Clark said the Government will “introduce an equity scheme in 2006” and “The Government had flagged the scheme as an election promise and was committed to delivering it.”?
The Prime Minister and other Ministers in the Government have signalled that we will be having a shared equity pilot scheme, for the reasons that I outlined in an earlier answer. This is a complex process, this is a new product, and I can ensure the member that the pilot scheme will be offered.
Is the Minister telling us that he announced the scheme in 2004, again in 2005, again in 2006, and again this year, without doing any design work at all, and without seeing whether there was any need for it or public desire for it; if so, why has he announced a shared equity scheme every year for the last 4 years, without doing the design work for it?
What I can tell the House is that the Government is committed to firm actions to try to create housing affordability and provide access to homeownership. I have outlined a number of schemes that are already in place, and have signalled that the shared equity pilot scheme will happen next year. What is interesting is that I looked at the National Party’s website before question time today, and found no reference to housing, at all. Does that mean that party does not have any housing policy at all?
What is the Minister doing to address housing affordability, if it is not encouraging district councils to release more land for subdivision, if it is not fixing the Resource Management Act 1991, and there is no sign of his flagship nationwide shared equity scheme anywhere on the horizon for the next 2 years?
I have already outlined a basket of initiatives that the Government has taken. I remind the member who has just asked me the question that there is no reference to housing, at all, on the National Party’s website. When is that party going to offer us any solutions?
Has the Minister had discussions with the Minster of Finance on the introduction of a policy to ring-fence tax losses on rental housing; if not, why not, given that he is the Minister of Housing and is looking at housing and affordability; if so, what is his opinion on ring-fencing tax losses on rental housing?
I seek leave to table the answer to written question No. 10742, which states the Government has been working on this matter since 2004.
I seek leave to table the press release headed “More help for first-home buyers”, dated 22 August 2005.
I seek leave to table the article headed “First-timers to get cheap homes”, from the Sunday Star-Times of July 2006.
I seek leave to table the article headed “Shared equity schemes among options to lift home ownership”, from a New Zealand Herald of August 2006.
I seek leave to table the article headed “Housing Boom: Shared equity on Gov’s housing agenda”, from an Independent of January 2007.
I seek leave to table the article “Carter urges NZ banks to consider shared equity schemes”, dated March 2007.
Lastly, I seek leave to table Labour’s Budget announcement that there will be a pilot shared equity scheme some time at the end of next year.
I seek leave to table a copy of the official National Party website, which contains no reference to housing initiatives, or any housing policy at all.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. My point of order is a request for you to consider what this House has just experienced, which, in my view, was a gross waste of Parliament’s time. For someone to get up and read out his recent reading bibliography is not an acceptable practice in Parliament. If we all did that, there would be a hopeless lack of work being done in this Parliament. That is surely a procedure that that member and his party, in particular, should reflect on.