Estimates Debate — Vote Housing

Kia orana. This morning I spoke with my electorate office. That is not unusual, you would argue, and, no, it is not, but I spoke to my electorate office this morning about what is happening in housing and particularly about what is happening with emergency accommodation in Christchurch. I do that from time to time. The team down there lets me know what is going on. We keep records of people who come into the electorate office looking for assistance with housing, particularly emergency accommodation providers. Today my team told me—and I am just going to quote from the email they sent through to me today—that currently there are no emergency housing units available in Christchurch. Further, it went on to say that the Salvation Army is full and has waiting lists but cannot move people on to permanent housing.

We all know that there is an issue with housing in the Canterbury region, including affordability, and affordability of rents. Our rents have moved over $100 a week in the last year. We matched that to census figures that came out from One News a few days ago that said there have been 700 more people living in temporary dwellings and overcrowded houses since the quakes. The census data also goes on to tell us there are 2,200 people in Christchurch living in temporary accommodation, up 50 percent from 2006, and 700 people living in mobile homes and makeshift shelters. Overcrowding has climbed, with more than 25,000 people living in crowded households.

We in Labour say that there is a better way—that the answer actually lies in building more homes. To be fair, the Minister of Housing has done some work in this regard. The Christchurch housing accord with the Christchurch City Council will bring some affordable rentals back into the market. But when I questioned the Minister—

💬 Hon Ruth Dyson: About time.

That is right; it is way past time, actually, Ruth Dyson. When I questioned the Minister at the select committee estimates discussion, he could not tell me how many more affordable rentals the accord would bring, and nor could he tell me when they were likely to start construction. This Minister has really proved to be slow in many areas. His own figures show that of the 700 new Housing New Zealand Corporation homes he promised to build a year ago, he has built only 29.

From the Ministry of Social Development we know that, of course, the number of people who are on priority waiting lists for Housing New Zealand Corporation homes at the last count was over 500. But, of course, we do not know what the new figures are, because the Minister for Social Development has not been able to provide us with any figures since they moved the accessibility criteria to the Ministry of Social Development in mid-April.

The Minister of Housing likes to quote consents as a measure of progress, and I would just like to share some information about that as well. I have to say, to be fair, that Christchurch is currently experiencing the highest number of consents ever. Well, what a surprise that would be!

💬 Iain Lees-Galloway: Why?

I wonder why! I think they are supposed to be building houses, are they not? The average number of consents for the period the National Government has been in office, though, is 1,647. Let us compare that with the historic average of 1,926—this is annually—and compare it with the average of 2,012 over the years 1999 to 2008. This obviously goes to show that we were starting from some deficit even before the quakes hit. That is significant, because we are starting from way back, past left field, before we even consider how much we need to do to get us to pre-quake levels.

The Minister says that the Canterbury region has to put up with housing unaffordability for at least another 5 years. So for 8½ years people in Canterbury will see their accommodation costs eat up more and more and more of their income. There is a better way.

Kia orana, Mr Chair. Meitaki. I rise to take a call in this estimates debate in regard to housing. I want to acknowledge my colleague over there, Poto Williams, who talked about the issues of Christchurch and Canterbury. The lessons from the Canterbury earthquakes are informing our work programme, which is also focused on the provision of safe, healthy, and high-quality homes and buildings. I just want to acknowledge some of the lessons that have been learnt from that, as well.

I think what is important is that housing policy is one of the greatest challenges of our time. It matters because most of our Kiwi families know that the equity in their home is their greatest asset and that it has become increasingly difficult for families to buy and own their own home. I know that for myself. It was not, in fact, until my late 30s that my family and I were actually able to buy a home. I know how challenging and how difficult it is, and the difficulty of that even in these times. That is one of the reasons that this Government has embarked on a comprehensive package of reforms that will make homes more affordable and reshape New Zealand’s approach to housing, as well.

I also want to talk about some of the things that we are doing with regard to those reforms. One of the things we have done is the immediate suspension of anti-dumping duties, through the Budget night legislation—duties on plasterboard, wire, nails, and reinforced steel bars—for 3 years, from 1 July. The zero concessionary tariff is to be reviewed after 5 years and covers around 90 percent of the materials in a new home. It is expected to save $3,500 in the construction of a standard home. What I do know is that, for me, for instance, coming from a construction background as an electrician—in fact, I could be one of the few tradespeople in Parliament—when constructing homes, the cost of construction becomes critically important. One of the things I do know is that when you compare the cost, for instance, of building in regard to square metreage, the costs in New Zealand are around $2,200 per square metre in comparison with Australia’s, which are around $1,300. So if we can reduce those costs, we know the difference that that can make; hence the issue of suspending tariffs is quite an important one. We know the savings that that can make is around $3,500 in the construction costs of homes.

The other thing we have done is put $64.3 million into new operating funding, new capital funding, for social housing needs and functions for the Ministry of Social Development. So the social housing sector also becomes quite critically important. We know that in areas like Maraenui and Pōmare, and also over in Tāmaki, even with the struggles they have had, they are very important.

💬 Meka Whaitiri: Do you know where Maraenui is?

Yes, I do know where they are. I know that, for instance, the Glen Innes housing project started off from going down to Maraenui and seeing what was happening there—the work they had been doing in regard to engaging communities about the issues of housing. So that was really important, as well. There are those of us who do engage with communities as well. So what we did learn from that is the importance of engaging in communities—in particular, around the social housing sector. We know the importance of the role of the social housing sector; hence the reason we have engaged with it.

A great project that has happened in our community—and you might not know about it, Ms Whaitiri—is in Māngere. You might not know where it is, but it is in Māngere. There is a project called the Matanikolo Housing Project. It is a Tongan project that is partnering with the Tongan community. They have this partnership where they have been able to build 22 homes, so now the Tongan community has got this partnership with Lifewise, a social housing provider, along with the Government. In that partnership there is $4.3 million—

💬 Hon Ruth Dyson: How many times have we heard the same old story?

Yes, you can go like that, but guess what? For all that talk, here is a little bit of action that is really happening. And guess what is happening? This Tongan community is saying for the first time that it has got a sense of participation and ownership in dealing with the housing issues for its community. It is a great project, making a difference.

💬 Meka Whaitiri: It’s too slow.

Well, it may be slow where you come from, but I tell you what: where we come from, over there in Māngere, they are absolutely celebrating it. They are asking when the next project is. They are asking this Government when the next project is so that we can partnership together. They have the land and they need some opportunities. So our partnership with the social housing providers is absolutely making a difference. See, that is the difference between this Government and that potential Government over there.

I came down to the Chamber to listen to that excellent contribution from my colleague Poto Williams, but having had to sit through Alfred Ngaro’s—how do I describe it? It was “inciteful”—it was an incitement to disorder, listening to the bland platitudes, the justifications of that member. That is the member who claimed to come from Glen Innes in Auckland, but he has been the worst—the champion, the apologist who justifies the disgraceful behaviour of Housing New Zealand kicking out the elderly, kicking out the disabled from homes they have lived in for decades. He is the apologist for that sort of awful behaviour that even a select committee unanimously criticised Housing New Zealand for. That member has been the apologist for that kind of behaviour. He stands there justifying the policies of this National-led Government, which has done nothing about the housing affordability crisis. That member stands up there like a pious vicar, justifying the complete failure of the National Government’s housing policy.

There are no winners in the current housing crisis. Let us look at it. In Canterbury the near-criminal negligence, the failure of this Government to actually get the residential rebuild going, has seen fewer than 1,000 of the 12,000 to 15,000 houses that are needed after the quake actually built after 3½ years. Mr Ngaro, the party that you stand up for and justify in this Chamber is responsible for rents going up by more than 40 percent in Canterbury and people living in sleepouts and sleeping in cars. That is the policy that you are proud of. In Auckland this Government has presided over skyrocketing house prices. In the last year in Auckland house prices on average have gone up by $72,000 because of this Government’s total failure to do anything meaningful about a dysfunctional, failing housing market.

First-home buyers all over the country have been locked out of the dream of homeownership by loan-to-value ratios of a 20 percent minimum deposit. If you are earning the median wage in a place like Ashburton or Masterton of something like $28,000 and you are paying tax on it, it is impossible to save the $60,000, $70,000, or $80,000 deposit that you would have to have to even get in the door to talk to the bank manager about a mortgage. But Alfred Ngaro would not know about that; he would not care about that. He is too busy justifying the failure and inaction of this National-led Government.

In the regions, because of this Government’s failure to crack down on speculators, people are losing equity in their homes. In Southland in the last year the average house price has gone down by $22,000. There is no housing crisis in Southland. It is because of the failure of this Government to do anything about speculators in Auckland that people in Southland—the other half of the population who do not live in Auckland and Canterbury—are paying the price of that Government’s failure of a housing policy.

There are 285,000 kids living below the poverty line. More than half of those kids are living in substandard private rental accommodation. But the best this Government can do about it is a lame pilot scheme of its own State houses that it is too weak-kneed to ensure are properly insulated and are warm and dry. Instead of doing something about the private rental market, where those kids are languishing in cold, damp homes and ending up in hospital every winter, Nick Smith tries to look like he is doing something by announcing a pilot scheme.

Alfred Ngaro talked about a comprehensive programme on housing. There is nothing of the sort. What has this Government done in housing? The only thing it has got is a lame housing accord in Auckland that has resulted in zero new houses being built a year after that policy was announced. Not a single new house has been built in the special housing areas as a result of that Government’s housing accord in Auckland. What a total waste and a failure.

The Government has been talking about reforming the Resource Management Act to speed up the consenting of residential development for the last 6 years. We have got something like 7 House sitting days left before the House rises, and it looks like it probably will not even pass the legislation on reforming development contributions. It has announced that it is not prepared—

Well, we have just witnessed the first election debate for the seat of Te Atatū between Mr Phil Twyford and Mr Alfred Ngaro. In that debate we did see some anger from Mr Twyford, so I think, given that he is actually standing in a seat that is very much for the workers—and we are going to pitch an electrician, a craftsman, versus an administrator—it is going to be a very interesting battle in Te Atatū. But I want to focus on the positive work of this Government—I very much want to focus on the positive work of this Government.

The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson): Order! I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member. There are members interjecting on each other who do not have the floor. It is not permitted in the people’s House.

Housing New Zealand provides decent, affordable housing to those who are most in need and when they need it. It owns or manages 69,000 properties across New Zealand, housing around 200,000 people.

Today I want to acknowledge three people who have worked their guts out over the last 9 years for my electorate in Napier. They are sitting in the gallery tonight: Tania Wright, Vicki Sanders, and Sharon Coates. They have been my electorate agents over the last 9 years. Unfortunately, they cannot come to my valedictory speech in a few weeks’ time, but I just want to acknowledge the massive, massive work that they have done over the last 9 years and throughout that period. Much of that work has been done with Housing New Zealand and serving people who have walked in our door, irrespective of whom they have voted for—that is not a question we ask when you walk into my electorate office. They have been serving those people, helping them when they are in tough situations and in a time of need, and working very closely, I might add, with the fine people at Housing New Zealand. They have had to deal with many of the changes that this Government has instituted over the last 3 or 4 years.

There have been some necessary things that we have needed to do with Housing New Zealand. The facts are pretty simple. There are three things. Firstly, the demographics have changed significantly in terms of the requirements—what is required in terms of the houses and the composition of those houses. Families have changed, in terms of what is required. So what we have been supplying through Housing New Zealand has not stacked up with those demographics.

Secondly, the quality of the housing in some cases—and in suburbs the likes of Maraenui—has been appalling. If you look at the one-up, one-down homes, the side-by-side homes that sit in that suburb, many of them that have not been pulled down still remain cold, wet, damp, and mouldy. They are a disgrace, quite frankly, and need to go or be changed. The third thing, which has been the tough call that many in the House have struggled with, but that we believe we need to get on top of, is some of the outcomes that proliferate around the cluster of those homes that are wet and damp and terrible. Some of those outcomes are not pretty. Many in the likes of Maraenui have very strong gang affiliations. That perpetuates all sorts of outcomes, including low employment, low aspiration, and high crime levels even amongst and within the community itself. In fact, some of the highest crime levels in the country occur most repetitively within the lower socio-economic parts of the community. We make no excuses for looking to change and to make changes. We are doing that.

I have got to say I was proud just a few weeks ago to take the Prime Minister into Maraenui and to take him to seven new homes that have been built in that wonderful suburb—seven brand new homes. They are pitched right beside some of the one-up, one-down homes—the cold, wet, and damp ones—that are now, fortunately, not occupied any longer because they do not deserve to house people. But next door there are seven new homes, and they achieved a six-star rating. To put that into perspective, a new, standard home built to current standards gets three to four stars. The one-up, one-downs next door achieve only one star. They are a recipe for disaster, for illness, for sickness, for bad health, and for all sorts of things. Next door there are now seven homes, which is the kind of stock that Housing New Zealand is now out there growing around the country, with double glazing on the windows and insulation. I visited them as they were being built. They have massive insulation on the ceiling.

Vote agreed to.

Vote Communications agreed to.

Vote Environment