12. TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) Link to this
to the Minister of Housing
What is the Government doing to assist people into homeownership?
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) Link to this
A range of initiatives are under way, but I will focus on just one. Cabinet has recently agreed to the extension of the loan cap on the Welcome Home Loan product from $280,000 to $350,000. This means that first-home buyers who want or have to live in higher-value areas, such as Auckland and Wellington, have a great opportunity. This product will also be available to State house tenants, who are very enthusiastic to move out of renting and into homeownership. Those tenants will be eligible to buy their homes, and they can use this product to do that.
We have also extended the loan scheme to Māori who want to build on multiple-owned land. This fulfils an election promise in which we committed ourselves to give the banks the confidence to support Māori housing. The banks are reluctant at the moment to give loans because the land cannot be used as security, and this change delivers a solution to that. Members of the previous Government wrung their hands over this problem for 9 years, and we have delivered a solution to it in 9 months.
We gave that a great deal of thought, too, and changes will allow first-home buyers to borrow in order to build a home if they already own land. On the one hand we want to increase the housing supply, and this change will also stimulate the construction sector. If a first-home buyer owns or buys a vacant section, he or she can then borrow in order to build a home, getting the construction industry going and getting a roof over their young heads.
Moana MackeyGiven that the latest ASB quarterly survey of housing confidence showed the first positive result in 18 months—
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. If questions addressed to this side of the House could start with a question word, that would be good.
Mr SPEAKERI have taken an approach that I believe is a little more intelligent than that, as long as the question does come along very quickly. This is not W3, as I think I said once before.
Given that the latest ASB quarterly survey of housing confidence showed the first positive result in 18 months and described it as “similar to that seen when the last housing boom was just getting started”, when will we finally see any new ideas on affordable housing from this Minister, who, in the 10 months since becoming the Minister of Housing, has done nothing other than claim Labour initiatives as his own?
The previous Government ignored the problems under the Resource Management Act for builders; we have worked on that. The previous Government ignored the problems under the Building Act; we have worked on that. The previous Government refused to lower taxes; we have worked on that. Interest rates have stabilised—we have done that—and what is more, we have solved the problem in Māori housing that the previous Government wrung its hands over for 9 years. And we have solved it in 9 months.