6. HEKIA PARATA (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Housing
What announcement has he recently made that supports the Government’s aim of improving the provision of affordable housing in New Zealand?
Hon PHIL HEATLEY (Minister of Housing) Link to this
Yesterday I announced the launch of the Gateway Housing Assistance initiative. This programme will make it easier for first-home buyers and those on lower incomes to build or purchase their own homes, by allowing purchasers to defer payment on the land for up to 10 years. So this allows people on lower incomes to concentrate on building their homes before they assume the additional burden of paying for the land. It is a neat two-step process: pay for the building, then pay for the land 10 years later. It is just another addition to the tool kit for first-home buyers. But the most important thing the Government can do for first-home buyers is to manage the economy well, keeping down interest rates well below what they were at the time of Labour’s tenure when they were 10 and 11 percent, so that people can afford to pay their mortgages.
We have also raised the cap on Welcome Home Loans from $280,000 to $350,000. We have seen 3,000 New Zealanders become homeowners under that fund since we became the Government. Last year the Housing Innovation Fund saw 169 new houses built—many of them for first-home buyers—with $20 million of the taxpayers’ money met by $40 million of the community’s money, which is great: we are seeing $2 for every $1 we put up. But I have to say that managing the economy well and keeping interest rates down below 10 and 11 percent, which they were under Labour, means that people can afford to pay their fortnightly mortgage. That is the most important thing we can do: manage the economy well, and cut red tape for building and resource consenting.
Rahui KateneWhat priority is he according the issue of affordable housing in rural communities, and how can iwi Māori be involved in this issue?
We were very conscious when we raised the amount of money in the Housing Innovation Fund to $20 million—it was $12 million under the previous Government—that we would set aside $4 million, $5 million, or $6 million each year for Māori housing, particularly in rural areas. Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Inc., Te Rarawa, Ngāti Awa, and Ngāti Hine Health Trust last year received $5.5 million. They built with that money 44 kaumātua and affordable houses across the regions, which is wonderful. Māori iwi groups are applying again this year. We hope to see another 40 or 50 houses being built, particularly on Māori rural land. My message for iwi leaders is to work in partnership with Housing New Zealand Corporation and the Department of Building and Housing. We want to engage with them.
Moana MackeyWhy, when back in 2008 the previous Labour Government had already identified 1,500 sites on Crown land for affordable homes in Auckland alone, has it taken him 2 years to come up with 30 sites across the whole country?
Well, members who have been here longer than 3 years will recall that Labour identified a fair bit of land. It included the Auckland Zoo and many, many public parks across Auckland. We decided this. We consulted, we went out there and discussed it amongst ourselves, and we decided that we would not close down the Auckland Zoo, so those bits of land were not set aside. More than simply identifying land, we are just delighted to hand over the keys to some actual property.
Does he appreciate that his Government’s decision to raise GST has already increased the cost of building a new home; that his decision to charge interest on the Crown land will add, by his own calculations, at least $36,000 to the cost of a new home; and that cost of living increases across the board have already made it harder for families to get into and to sustain housing, and does he realise that housing affordability will never be addressed as long as his Government continues to give with one hand and take with the other?
I do not consider many of those statements made by the Opposition member to be factual. What everyone in this House knows is factual is that when the previous Government was managing the economy, interest rates for mortgage payers were up at around 10 and 11 percent, whereas this Government is looking to manage the economy to keep interest rates down at a decent level. The most important thing we can do for first-home buyers is to manage the economy so that interest rates for mortgage payers are kept at a reasonable level, not at 10 or 11 percent as they were under the previous Government.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would like you—not necessarily directly now, but as you review questions today—to reflect on that answer, and review the beginning, which attacked the credibility of a member for the use of some facts that I am informed came from that Minister’s website. The point is that if someone is doubting a member’s word on a matter of fact, then it is quite a serious matter, and it used not to be allowed in the House.
Mr SPEAKERI appreciate the member’s point of order. I invite him to also check the Hansard of his colleague’s question. I think he will find that the question was actually of the kind that lends itself to a very wide range of answers. It was a total opinion question. It asked the Minister’s opinion about something and contained some facts. With supplementary questions, I think Ministers are entitled to question the validity of facts and assertions inserted into supplementary questions. After all, they are not meant to contain assertions beyond what is absolutely minimal to state the question. I listened very carefully to that question. I thought to myself as I heard it: “Here is a go.”—the Minister really has licence to go anywhere with that kind of question. I invite both members to look at the question asked and see why the Minister was given such licence with that kind of question to give the kind of answer that he did.