8. PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) Link to this
to the Minister of Housing
How does she reconcile the definition of “affordable housing” in the Affordable Housing: Enabling Territorial Authorities Bill as being “affordable to low and moderate income earners”, with the Hobsonville development’s 500 “affordable homes” that Housing New Zealand Corporation says will “cost approximately $350,000 and be targeted at households earning about $70,000 per year”?
Hon MARYAN STREET (Minister of Housing) Link to this
By recognising that there is a range of ways of helping a range of people into affordable homes.
How does the Minister expect builders to build affordable houses under her affordable housing bill, when her own flagship Hobsonville scheme cannot do it, even with the economies of scale that it has, without it being propped up by even more Government schemes?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
Affordability can be created by a Government that chooses to intervene actively to assist first-home buyers—not by an Opposition whose only solution is, possibly, to propose its self-appointed housing expert, Bob Clarkson, as the gap filler.
Dr Ashraf Choudhary Link to this
Has the Minister seen any reports concerning affordable homes in Hobsonville that she finds difficult to reconcile?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
Yes; I have seen two reports that describe affordable housing in Hobsonville variously as economic vandalism that should be scrapped and as something to be welcomed. These reports both come from John Key, and I do have trouble reconciling them.
Is the Minister going to prop up every single other affordable house in the country that she expects private builders to provide, if she is going to prop up her affordable houses at Hobsonville with compounding shared-equity schemes?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
There are ways and ways of addressing housing affordability. One of them is to take initiatives like this—engaging with other providers of housing to assist, in partnership, to provide affordable houses.
Are the Auckland councils, Local Government New Zealand, and the Christchurch, Wellington, and Nelson councils all saying her affordable housing bill will “push up rates” and is “pushing Government responsibilities on to councils” because they resent her Government’s 8-year record of falling homeownership, compounding red tape, low after-tax income, and skyrocketing mortgage rates?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
If the member got out more, he would discover that a number of territorial authorities actually approve of the intention of the bill, and have said so publicly.
Do builders who say that the Minister’s solution to the need to boost cheap houses is unworkable and will “push up the prices of other houses” say that because they resent her Government’s 8-year record of doing nothing about falling homeownership, doing nothing about compounding red tape or low after-tax incomes, and doing nothing about rising interest rates?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
There are ways and ways of addressing housing affordability, and I invite the member to watch this space.
Why did the Labour Government not do something years ago about falling homeownership, compounding red tape, low after-tax incomes, and rising interest rates, so that it would not have to roll out these roundly criticised fringe schemes in election year?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
The Government is proceeding on a comprehensive suite of options to address this issue. I am really sorry that the member continues to fail to get it.
Hon Ruth DysonAre the Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch local authorities that the member Phil Heatley referred to in his previous supplementary question the Auckland City Council, which required central government to buy out its previously publicly owned houses to ensure the security of tenure of the mainly pensioner tenants; the Wellington City Council, which has had a $200 million partnership with central government; and the Christchurch City Council, which just put its rents up 24 percent, saying that that was all right because central government would pay the tenants more in accommodation supplements?
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
Those are the same local authorities, and I would add the Nelson council to the mix. I would say, beyond that, that my visits to each of those territorial authorities—and I invite the member to do the same kind of legwork—have proven to me that they are very supportive of the intention of, and the mechanism in, the bill.
I seek leave to table a New Zealand Herald article that refers to the bill pushing responsibilities on to the councils.
Madam SPEAKERI seek leave to table a New Zealand Herald article that refers to the bill pushing up rates.
I seek leave to table a document from the Property Council that refers to the housing bill pushing up the price of other houses.
Hon MARYAN STREET Link to this
I seek leave to table a press release from the Waitakere City Council welcoming the initiatives in the affordable housing bill.