11. KATRINA SHANKS (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Housing
What has been the result of the extra $124.5 million that the Government provided for housing as part of the fiscal stimulus package?
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) Link to this
Housing New Zealand has carried out well over 20,000 upgrades to State houses. Of those, over 11,000 were funded directly by the stimulus package. That is 11,000 additional families who would otherwise still live in old, cold houses full of mould that the previous Government left them in. The package also paid for 87 new State houses out of the 846 additional State houses that have been delivered over the last 2 financial years. The package also provided work for thousands of workers during a downturn.
The State housing portfolio was left to us with significant challenges. In fact, I am advised that there are more than 20,000 State houses that are the wrong size, in the wrong place, or in a serious state of disrepair. This Government wants the right houses, of the right standard, in the right places in New Zealand for those most in need.
Moana MackeyDoes he understand that while the recession may be over for him and his National colleagues, it is not over for the 11,000 people currently sitting on Housing New Zealand Corporation’s waiting list; and maybe, instead of patting himself on the back for the fact that he delivered an 80 percent cut in the housing budget, he might want to do his job and help get those families into housing?
The House might be interested to know that the waiting list has remained at around 10,000 people for the last decade—10,000 every year for the last decade. The question should be asked how the National Government was able to hold the waiting list at 10,000 during a recession, when the previous Labour Government could not hold it at that even during the good times.