Oral Questions

1. to the Minister of Finance: Talofa lava, Mr Speaker. What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

Fa‘afetai tele lava. The ANZ bank’s latest Quarterly Economic Outlook, which was released yesterday, noted that the New Zealand economy is “well on the way to recovery”. The bank’s economic team said it was surprising to be able to say this so early and that going into the crisis, every economic forecaster was expecting a large, drawn-out recession with a possibility of deflation, a 10 percent unemployment rate, and an economy that would struggle to get back to pre-COVID levels of output. The bank acknowledges that the policy response to COVID to eliminate the virus has meant that New Zealanders have spent the last 12 months living relatively normally. Compared with other countries that did not control the virus, ANZ notes that New Zealand’s health outcomes have been better, which has allowed the country to come out of lockdown much sooner and has, in turn, led to a more advanced recovery in New Zealand than in most of our trading partners.

💬 Dr Duncan Webb: What else did this report say about the impact of the Government’s policies on New Zealand’s economic outlook?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well, the ANZ report noted, “The focus of Government policy on keeping workers attached to their jobs has also been a key pillar of [our] relatively good economic outcomes.” We’ve seen employment in New Zealand increase above pre-COVID levels in recent months. The ANZ reports that New Zealand’s labour market is far closer to full employment than anyone could have hoped for. Nevertheless, the recovery in the labour market does remain uneven, and this is why the Government has invested heavily in trades training and apprenticeship schemes, as well as expanding the Flexi-wage programme and also, in Budget 2021, extending the Training Incentive Allowance to support 16,000 New Zealanders into work.

💬 Dr Duncan Webb: What other reports has he seen on the economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Securing the recovery is also being supported by a number of other sectors. Statistics New Zealand reported yesterday that building consents issued for new homes hit a record high of 42,848 in the year to April 2021, and this overtook the previous annual high set in March 2021, which in turn bettered the previous record that was set in 1974. Building consents for new homes in the year to April 2021 have now risen 41 percent, or by more than 12,000, compared with 2017.

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Before I call on the next question, I’m just going to remind Marja Lubeck that she’s sitting a lot closer both to the Minister’s mikes and to my mikes than she was previously, and her energetic interventions are sort of echoing a bit.

Question No. 2—Housing (Public Housing)

2. to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): Does she agree with the statement in the Labour Party’s 2020 manifesto that it will “regulate property managers to protect landlords and tenants”; if so, what action will the Government take in response?

on behalf of the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): In answer to the first part of the member’s question, yes. In answer to the second part of the member’s question, the Government intends to deliver on this manifesto commitment over this three-year term of Government.

Chlöe Swarbrick: When will the Government regulate property managers?

On behalf of the Minister: as I said in answer to the primary, it is our intention to do this in this term of Government. The work has already begun on this work stream. In late 2020 and in early 2021, officials started engaging with the property management and tenancy sector stakeholders, and in March 2021, the Minister met with relevant stakeholders. So this work stream has begun.

Chlöe Swarbrick: Will regulation in property managers include a mandatory code of conduct with sanctions if the code is broken; if not, why not?

On behalf of the Minister: as I said, we’ve begun this piece of work and we are engaging stakeholders, and this will be rolled out over this term of Government. As a starting point, we are committed to ensuring that property managers comply with a mandatory code of conduct—so that is something that we are looking at—be part of a licensing regime, meet a good-character test, and follow a framework that allows tenants and landlords to resolve any issues.

Chlöe Swarbrick: Will regulation of property managers give the Tenancy Tribunal new powers to investigate alleged breaches of the law across the property manager’s whole property portfolio, rather than restricting it to a specific individual tenancy; if not, why not?

On behalf of the Minister: as I said, that work has begun. I’m not sure if that level of detail has been got into yet. I invite the member to put that question in writing.

Chlöe Swarbrick: Does the Government have an accurate record of how many property managers and landlords there are in New Zealand, and, if so, how many?

On behalf of the Minister: one of the issues, of course, that we have is because the sector is unregulated, there is no accurate data on how many property managers there are or how many properties they actually manage. Rental bond data that is held by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment gives us some insight, and shows that at 5 November 2020, 2,104 property managers had lodged bonds for about 42 percent of rental properties. But these are conservative estimates and, of course, part of the work we are doing is so we can have data such as the member is asking about.

Question No. 3—Prime Minister

3. to the Prime Minister: Talofa lava, Mr Speaker, and fa‘afetai. Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

Talofa lava. Yes—in particular, our recent Budget announcement of a main benefit boost, which is projected to lift up to an additional 33,000 children out of poverty on the after - housing cost measures in 2022-23. In combination with other changes under Labour such as our Families Package, 109,000 families with children will be better off by, on average, $175 per week by April 2022. Increasing incomes for our most vulnerable both secures our recovery by adding targeted stimulus to the economy while also addressing one of our most pressing long-term challenges of child poverty. The initiative, along with others recently announced in the Budget, are core parts for helping us achieve our three goals for the term: to keep New Zealand safe from COVID-19, to accelerate our recovery and rebuild, and to tackle our foundational challenges—those issues of housing affordability, climate change, and child wellbeing.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Why did Budget 2021 cut almost $20 million from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Endeavour Fund, which is used to promote research, science, and technology, with the potential to boost our long-term economic growth?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It’s my understanding that the money that the member is referring to is being reprioritised across the portfolio. The other point that I would make is that the Minister is doing quite a bit of work in this space generally, alongside the sector, to determine that we are appropriately incentivising and aiding research and development in this country.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Has she received any advice on the Australian Budget’s investment in a billion-dollar digital economy strategy, and did the New Zealand Budget contain anything similar?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I received advice on New Zealand’s economic performance relative to Australia’s economic performance based on some of the data contained in both countries’ Budgets, and I can tell the member from that that our unemployment rate is lower than Australia, we are projected to go into surplus, again—operating balance before gains and losses surplus—earlier than Australia and at about the same rate as we did following the global financial crisis, our debt levels are lower, and our growth rates are a solid 3.5 percent across the forecast period, which is also higher. So, on all measures, New Zealand is really outperforming Australia economically. On the issue of incentives and supporting technological development, I’d say that we’re looking at New Zealand’s circumstances, and that’s told us that, really, we need to put that support in for our small businesses, in particular. They saw considerable advancement during the COVID era, where they were forced to technologically adapt. We are trying to continue to support that with some of the acceleration funding that we’ve put in for digital support for small businesses.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Thank you—fa‘afetai. Why has Budget 2021 revised our projected long-term labour productivity growth down to just 1 percent per annum, and what specific initiatives in Budget 2021 will address this?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In answer to the member’s first question, that data is, as I understand, across decades. As I recall, it’s a 30-year average, so that wouldn’t just take into account this Government’s performance.

Brooke van Velden: Does she stand by the Minister of Health’s statement in regard to Patient Voice Aotearoa advocating for increasing funding into Pharmac that—I quote—“I don’t buy into extremist rhetoric.”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: At the same time, the Minister has rightly pointed out that we have increased funding for Pharmac to the tune of $200 million across the Budget period, and that has meant that we’re seeing well over a 20 percent increase in Pharmac’s budget overall. Ultimately, though, many of the advocacy groups that we, as a Government, and past Governments have faced often have specific drugs in mind that they would like funded, and the point that we’ve continually made is our job is to support Pharmac and the model. They are the ones that make the decisions over what is being funded. They should not be decisions for us.

Brooke van Velden: Point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was quite clear: whether the Prime Minister stood by the statement made by the health Minister about extremist rhetoric. I don’t believe that was addressed.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, I refer the member to Speakers’ rulings, I think it’s somewhere around page 183—early on that page—and that is that one can’t expect a specific answer to a supplementary question unless the primary is specific. If this area was signalled, I would be supportive of the member, but that area was not signalled as part of the primary question.

💬 David Seymour: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The primary question related to statements made by the Government. That question was accepted. Surely a question about a statement is in order, and therefore the statement should be addressed. The Prime Minister did not do so.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, I’ll just find the one. Speakers’ ruling 183/3: “If a member wants to have that kind of specificity addressed in a supplementary question, the primary question needs to be somewhat more specific than this one. (The primary question to the Minister was, ‘Does he stand by all his recent statements?’.)”—the Hon Dr Lockwood Smith.

Brooke van Velden: Does she stand by the Minister of Health’s denial that he used that language at the Health Committee this morning, stating—I quote—“I didn’t say that, and you’ve got that wrong.”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I’m sure the member will appreciate that I have neither the transcripts from that particular event about what was said by either the Minister nor the context in which it was said. I’m just not in a position to be able to answer the member’s question.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Thank you—fa‘afetai lava. Will there be a significant opening of the border in January 2022?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As the member will have heard, Ministers on this side of the House say repeatedly that we’re working through, of course, a phased approach to reconnecting our people with the world. We’ve already moved on the trans-Tasman bubble arrangement, but as that already demonstrates, these openings can be complex, and our number one priority, if we want to preserve the position that New Zealand is in—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I’m taking this as a very serious question asked by the members’ leader. I suggest that the front bench let it be answered because I think the leader might be interested in what’s being said.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: But as the member and, in fact, all of New Zealand has seen, even those arrangements with a country that is in a very similar position to us do pose risk and do pose complexities. So our goal is to put ourselves in the best position possible to start reconnecting with the world. However, we will always base those decisions on the data, the evidence, and New Zealand’s position at the time. We are in a good place; we’re not going to run the risk of losing it.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Is she aware that the Budget forecasts are based on the assumption that the border will be significantly open by January 2022, and how will the economy be impacted if the border is not opened by that date?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Two things: Treasury, of course, have to make predictions. As I understand it, their framing of that prediction was the idea that New Zealand may have further “green bubble” or bubble-style arrangements which enable further opening. But, again, all the way through COVID, it’s necessitated both Treasury and external commentators to make predictions—

💬 Chris Bishop: Read the Budget.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —about a very unknown environment—and I have, Mr Bishop.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: In which case, why is it that the Budget clearly says that it is predicting a significant opening of the border in January 2022 in its assumptions as to the economic wellbeing of this country?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly, Treasury have to make assumptions and predictions in order to make their economic forecasts and projections. Secondly, the member is interpreting what she believes to be significant to be. I’ve just explained that what is being shared with me is what Treasury considers to be significant.

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: Is the Prime Minister aware of any individuals or loose entities who have called for the bubble to be open, closed; the border to be open, closed; and sometimes at the same time?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I have. I have to say, from the member’s line of questioning, I’m not entirely sure what she is advocating. What I know is that this Government has taken a firm and clear decision—the safety of our people first—and it just so happens that when we predicted that putting people’s health first would support our economic recovery, that has been borne out.

💬 Hon Judith Collins: Why does the Government have a target to reduce prison populations by 30 percent, but not a target to reduce violent crime?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because, as the member will know, having worked across corrections, if you are seeking to reduce the prison population, that’s often the equivalent of reducing recidivism. Many people in our prison population are circulating back through. So if you focus on rehabilitation programmes that make a difference—if you focus on having, as prisoners exit, work to ensure that they are in employment and those things which prevent reoffending—then you ultimately also reduce victimisation.

Question No. 4—Energy and Resources

4. to the Minister of Energy and Resources: How is Budget 2021 supporting the roll-out of heating and insulation to make Kiwi homes warmer?

We’re continuing our investment in the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders through an extension of the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme in Budget 2021. We are funding the success of the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, which has, to date, delivered around 62,000 insulation and heating retrofits by investing an additional $120 million over two years to install insulation and heating retrofits for a further 47,700 homes. Tens of thousands more lower-income Kiwi families will benefit from better health and lower power bills as a direct result of the Government’s ongoing investment into warm, dry homes.

💬 Rachel Brooking: How will the extension of this programme result in better health outcomes for New Zealanders?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We know that the poor quality of some of New Zealand’s housing stock has led to an unacceptable amount of avoidable hospitalisations linked to cold, damp, and mouldy houses. In 2011, a Motu study on the benefits of insulation found that the benefit-cost ratio was $4.66 for every $1 spent in comfort and wellbeing. It is my intention to update this study to also look at the impact of heat pumps under the programme, which were introduced in 2019.

💬 Rachel Brooking: How many jobs will be supported by the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: The Warmer Kiwi Homes programme has been hugely successful, not only for grant recipients but for enabling service providers to continue delivering installation. It is estimated that the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme will support up to 600 jobs in the energy services sector.

Question No. 5—NZ Security Intelligence Service

5. to the Minister responsible for the NZ Security Intelligence Service: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?

Talofa lava, Mr Speaker. There is a longstanding convention of not discussing or confirming what may or may not be New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) operational matters. This is necessary to protect the NZSIS’s methods, capabilities, and areas of focus so that the agency can protect New Zealand’s national security. For that reason, it’s not in the public interest for me to address every statement and action, but, generally speaking, the answer is yes.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What action has he taken since being appointed Minister to ensure that the SIS shifts its focus off peaceful Māori activists and Muslim citizens and instead targets the right people, including violent white supremacists?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: It would be apparent from the report of the royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attacks that the NZSIS began its work specifically on white identity violent extremism in May 2018, and has continued to deal with that threat along with other terrorist threats and other threats to the national security of New Zealand.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What specifically is he doing as Minister to ensure that the SIS are working to protect Māori, who are increasingly being targeted by violent and racist white supremacist rhetoric?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I’m satisfied that the SIS is devoting appropriate resources to all of the national security threats that New Zealand faces, including the threats of terrorism, which itself includes the threat of white identity violent extremism, which itself includes threats against Māori as a people. I appreciated the opportunity to meet with representatives of Te Paati Māori yesterday, with the Director-General of Security, and to go through those issues. As the member will be aware, the director-general has undertaken to go back and ensure that both the work that they do and in conjunction with partners such as the New Zealand Police meets the expectations of that member and, indeed, all New Zealanders.

💬 Rawiri Waititi: What specific measures and processes does the SIS currently have in place in order to monitor the rise of anti-Māori white supremacist threats?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Both the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and, indeed, its partner agency, the Government Communications Security Bureau, have, I am satisfied, the means to monitor the threats that we would expect them, as a nation, to be monitoring and keeping abreast of, and are working in conjunction with other Government agencies and partners, including partners overseas, to make sure that New Zealanders are safe from those threats, and that includes Māori.

💬 Rawiri Waititi: Will he work with the Minister of Police to establish a joint task force specifically targeting white supremacist groups and organisations who seek to inflict harm on tangata whenua, and, if not, why not?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I assure the member that the Security Intelligence Service and the police do work closely on matters of national security and where they are manifest and where people are identified as acting out those threats. But, in any event, in light of the events of last week that that member and his colleague, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, have brought to the nation’s attention as well as to mine, there is clearly a need to ensure that the work that all Government agencies involved in national security are doing is responding effectively to those threats, bringing people to justice, and making sure that they and all members of the New Zealand community are safe.

💬 Hon Marama Davidson: What evidence does the Minister have that NZSIS is able to identify and respond appropriately to white supremacy rhetoric and threats of violence?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Again, I refer that member to the report of the royal commission of inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attacks, where the inquiry laid out both the work of the SIS and the threats that it is across. But, as the Minister in charge, I can assure that member and, indeed, the House that I am satisfied that that agency and all partner agencies are responding effectively to the national security threats that they face.

Question No. 6—Finance

6. to the Minister of Finance: Talofa, Mr Speaker. What specific initiatives, if any, in Budget 2021 will materially lift productivity in New Zealand, and by which year will this impact be seen?

I thank the member for the question. Budget 2021 includes a number of initiatives to ensure that our economic recovery results in an economy that is more productive than we have had before, as well as being more sustainable and inclusive. A wide range of policy areas affect productivity, so I’ll ask the Speaker and the member to bear with me while I cover just a few of the investments included in Budget 2021. Most prominently, Budget 2021 invests $57.3 billion in infrastructure over the next five years, which will not only create jobs but also improve the physical and digital infrastructure that New Zealand businesses rely on and reduce congestion, improving productivity. Improving the skills of New Zealanders is important when it comes to improving productivity, and Budget 2021 invests in this. Building on the more than 100,000 additional apprenticeships and trade training places that have been taken up since July 2020, Budget 2021 continues this with our reform of vocational education, presenting $279.5 million of funding. We’ve also reintroduced the training incentive allowance, with degree-level programmes, so that 16,000 sole parents, disabled people, and carers will have the financial support they need to get degree-level qualifications, increase their skills, and improve productivity. Research and development and innovation is also important when it comes to productivity. We will be investing an additional $300 million in the New Zealand Green Investment Fund, along with $56 million in science, research, and innovation, including a further $22 million to Research Education Advanced Network New Zealand and $10 million in ongoing investments in research—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member will now get on to the second leg of the question.

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Oh, thank you, Mr Speaker. In answer to the second part of the question: straight away and also over the next four years, evidenced by the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update showing annual business investment averaging almost 6 percent over the forecast period and real per capita GDP growing at around 2.4 percent.

💬 Andrew Bayly: Is he concerned by the Productivity Commission report that shows New Zealanders are working longer but produce less than other OECD countries, and, if so, how will Budget 2021 improve this?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: In answer to the first part of the question, yes, and in answer to the second part of the question—I’ll get in trouble with you if I go into that any more.

💬 Andrew Bayly: How can he be confident in his Budget when long-term labour productivity growth is now projected to drop to a mere 1 percent—the lowest in 15 years?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It’s worth going through how that figure is derived. It is derived by the Treasury using a 30-year historical median. In making their assumptions on labour productivity growth, Treasury do not make judgments on any current policy settings, nor on the potential of new technologies, nor on anticipated level of investments in coming years. Those assumptions are entirely based on backward-looking data over the last 30 years.

💬 Andrew Bayly: What are the reasons that Budget 2021 projects long-term labour productivity growth to continue to fall to just 1 percent per annum?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Referring to my last answer, that is because that has been the historical record of New Zealand. The investments that we are making in infrastructure, in skills, and in research and development mean that we have every chance of improving on that record that has bedevilled New Zealand for decades.

💬 Andrew Bayly: Why did Budget 2021 not include a tax incentive to make it easier for businesses to invest in new plant, equipment, and software?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We’ve made changes in the package that we did in March of 2020 that enabled building depreciation, which I know will benefit, according to estimates, around $1 billion in the 2021-22 year, which will significantly help businesses. We previously introduced the research and development tax credit. But, equally, the member can’t have it both ways. He wants more money spent, but he also wants less tax coming in. It doesn’t add up, Mr Bayly.

Question No. 7—Emergency Management

7. to the Acting Minister for Emergency Management: How is the Government responding to the Canterbury floods?

Talofa lava, Mr Speaker. The Government is supporting the Canterbury region as it responds and recovers from the significant flooding event. Police, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development, Te Puni Kōkiri, the National Emergency Management Agency, among many agencies, have assisted in the response, alongside personnel and equipment from the New Zealand Defence Force. The Ministry for Primary Industries is coordinating rural recovery support, the Ministry of Education is supporting schools, kura, and early learning centres as damage is being assessed, and Waka Kotahi is supporting the repair and recovery of significant damage to the transport network. As announced on Monday, an initial contribution of $100,000 to support the region has been made through the mayoral relief fund, and yesterday, my colleague Minister O’Connor announced that the Government has classified the Canterbury floods as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking funding of $500,000 to support farmers and growers in the region.

💬 Sarah Pallett: How well has the overall civil defence emergency management system performed in the event?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: The response has been very well managed at a local, regional, and national level. The Canterbury regional civil defence emergency management group has been leading response efforts, and I would like to acknowledge the group controller, Neville Reilly, who has demonstrated calm and effective leadership on the ground, and acknowledge those who staffed emergency operation centres over the weekend and the beginning of this week. The National Emergency Management Agency national coordination centre remains activated in support of the response, alongside local coordination centres in Christchurch, Timaru, Ashburton, Selwyn, Mackenzie, and Waimakariri. I would also like to thank the Canterbury region mayors, who came together swiftly to work with the whole region over the weekend to plan for and respond to the flooding event.

💬 Sarah Pallett: What role have the local community and volunteers played in the response?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Cantabrians have demonstrated once again why responses to local emergencies are best led at the local level. Canterbury-based first responders Ngāi Tahu, Federated Farmers, the Hakatere, Koukourārata, and Tuahiwi Marae, and community and rural leaders, including the Rural Support Trust, St John, Red Cross, and many other organisations and individuals, were critical to the response. I want to thank all those families and friends and neighbours who took in evacuees over the weekend, helped clear debris, and even, in some cases, saved lives. I especially want to thank the hundreds of volunteers like those that I met at the civil defence centre at the Mandeville Sports Club, and also those at the Ashburton and Waimakariri emergency operation centres. There is a significant recovery ahead for affected communities, and Government agencies are well involved in that.

Question No. 8—Housing

8. to the Minister of Housing: Does she believe that Government policies are helping first-home buyers keep up with rising house prices?

Talofa lava, Mr Speaker. In March, we introduced a package of both demand and supply measures aimed at increasing housing supply, relieving speculative demand pressures on the market, and making it easier for first-home buyers. Ten weeks in, we are seeing some promising indicators that our Government’s recent policies are beginning to help first-home buyers, but I acknowledge that it’s very early to assess the impact of the package. The housing crisis is a problem decades in the making that will take more time to turn around, but our combination of measures, including reducing barriers to building houses, will start to make a difference.

Brooke van Velden: Has she seen reports of how increasing housing costs have contributed to nearly half of the Capital and Coast DHB’s bowel screening programme nurses quitting, and, if so, what urgent actions are being taken to support those affected by rising house costs?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In answer to the first part of the question, no, I have not seen that report.

Brooke van Velden: Has she seen reports of the average resale profit in Wellington increasing by $60,000 over the last three months, and, if so, does she believe that first-home buyers can be expected to raise the additional $12,000 for a deposit they would have needed over those three months?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes, I have seen reports of those increases in Wellington, but I have also seen several reports showing that the different impacts of the policies are starting to take effect at different speeds around the country. So if we have a look at the house price index change between February 2021, when we were seeing a 5.3 percent monthly increase in house price, and April 2021, across the country, it was 0.6 percent. I also point to a number of commentators that are pointing to the fact that they are seeing an uplift in terms of first-home buyer market activity in the market, and Westpac economists, for example, who are saying that they’ve revised their house price forecast as a result of the Government’s recent move. I think the point is we are 10 weeks into these changes. These are problems decades in the making, but we are starting to see some promising green shoots.

💬 Nicola Willis: Does she think her Government’s decision to buy up more than $750 million worth of houses to turn them into State homes has helped or hindered first-home buyers?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think the member needs to get some perspective on that number and the size of the total number of sales—

💬 Hon Gerry Brownlee: Duff advice—duff advice.

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: —of properties that we have—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Too loud, Mr Brownlee.

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Always. The member needs to get some perspective. But what the member is talking about—[Interruption] Thank you, Mr Brownlee. The number that the member is talking about is actually a very tiny fraction of the number of sales and purchases that happen in New Zealand. But, as I have repeatedly told that member in this House, I am not satisfied with the level of buy-ins that I saw were happening within our public housing sector that were instigated under the previous Government. In some years, like 2015, for example, 67 percent of the all-new public housing places were, in fact, buy-ins and not new builds. Our Government has that down to around 12 percent this year. I am proud of what we’re doing in public housing.

💬 Nicola Willis: Well, can she confirm answers to her own written questions, showing her Government has spent—

💬 SPEAKER: No, I think you might just want to rephrase the beginning of it. I don’t think—

💬 Nicola Willis: Showing the Government, not Megan Woods’ Government?

💬 SPEAKER: No, I don’t think they were her questions—her answers.

💬 Nicola Willis: Can she confirm her answers to written questions showing the Government—her Government—has spent more than five times as much buying up houses than the past National Government ever did, and what does she say to the hundreds of first-home buyers who have missed out on a house because they were outbid by the Government?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I certainly can confirm that we’ve spent five times more than the previous Government, because that was a Government that sold off public housing and did not add to our stock. It was a Government that ended up with 1,500 fewer public houses than it started with, and what I say to first-home buyers is that this is a Government that is part of the solution to the housing crisis, not the cause of it. We have built over 5,000 new public homes in the nearly four years we’ve been in Government.

Brooke van Velden: What reports has she received on how fast incomes would have to grow for first-home buyers in order to keep up with house price inflation from the previous quarter?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: There are a number of reports that are out there that are calculating across different regions what that would look like. We saw that CoreLogic is showing what that is doing across different parts of New Zealand. But I think the point I want to make to the member is that we are not content with the current rate of house prices that we are seeing. This is exactly why we instituted these changes back in March and are happy to see that we are seeing some green shoots. That shows some indications that rapid house price growth is slowing.

Brooke van Velden: How much does she believe an affordable house should cost in Wellington?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think that we’ve traversed this ground often in this House. There are international measures: around 30 percent of income on housing, whether that be through rent or whether that be through servicing mortgages. But, of course, some people choose to spend far more of their incomes on mortgages because they want to pay them off faster.

Chlöe Swarbrick: Is the Government still committed to so-called sustained moderation of house prices, and, if so, is the Minister aware that it will take approximately 50 years for house prices then to get back to the level of affordability in the early 2000s?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We’re a Government that is taking action to ensure that we can do something about out-of-control house prices. What we have shown is that we have a programme of work that we see that the Treasury and the Reserve Bank forecasts show less than a 1 percent increase in housing prices in the coming year as a result of policies that our Government has instituted.

💬 David Seymour: What does it say for the effectiveness of that action by the Government that the May year-on-year CoreLogic figures showed a 20 percent rise in national house prices versus only 18 percent in April?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As I said in the answer to the primary question, we are 10 weeks in from making these changes, and in terms of the only data we have, which is for April, that reflects six weeks in. The data set that the member referred to first is indeed the one that included the hyperinflation from November through to March.

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: Further to that answer, can the Minister confirm that the latest monthly data does show that in 10 of 19 regions, we are seeing a slowing rate of house price increases?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Yes, and, furthermore, some of that data shows across Auckland even bigger swings.

Question No. 9—Women

9. to the Minister for Women: What initiatives are there in Budget 2021 to improve the lives of New Zealand women?

I am pleased to inform the House that Budget 2021 delivers for New Zealand women through breast and cervical cancer screening system improvements, increasing benefits to tackle inequality, and providing better employment opportunities for women. Some of the highlights that will have a real impact on the lives of women and girls include extending the training incentive allowance, 3,000 extra places in childcare, pay parity for early childhood education teachers, and $131 million to tackle family and sexual violence.

💬 Willow-Jean Prime: How will the increases to benefits announced in Budget 2021 impact women?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: We know that 83 percent of sole parents are women, and 90 percent of the recipients of sole parent support are women. The changes made through Budget 2021 mean for a single mum on the sole parent benefit, she will have received the 22 percent increase in her main benefit under Labour since 2017. The Government has also extended the training incentive allowance, of which 86 percent of recipients are women. In addition, the 3,000 extra places for children in childcare, plus increases in childcare assistance, will help about 900 low-income parents to remain or transition into employment, training, and education, and many of these parents will be women.

💬 Willow-Jean Prime: How else has the Government delivered for women following the COVID-19 pandemic?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: During New Zealand’s peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a gap emerged between men’s and women’s unemployment rates. We have now closed that gap, and unemployment between men and women is equal. In real terms, that means in the March quarter there have been an additional 14,000 more women in work compared to the previous quarter. Pre - COVID-19, only 14 percent of apprenticeships were held by women, and just 3.2 percent of all building and construction apprenticeships were women. The Apprenticeship Boost has contributed to a 30 percent increase in women taking up apprenticeships during 2020. This is a Government that is committed to gender equality. The COVID-19 economic recovery plan, combined with the delivery of Budget 2021, demonstrates that.

Question No. 10—COVID-19 Response

10. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by all his statements and actions in relation to the Government’s response to COVID-19?

on behalf of the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Yes—in particular, the work already undertaken by all DHBs, which has seen them administer over 668,000 vaccines to people across New Zealand, well in excess of their plans.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why does the Canterbury District Health Board not have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to complete its group 1 and 2 populations, and which other health boards are in this situation?

Vaccination of group 1 is near completed nationwide, vaccination of group 2 in Canterbury is well under way—and I know in many of their aged-care facilities, a majority of residents have received their first dose—and, thirdly, vaccination of group 2 will continue throughout July.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why has it taken until June 2021 for the Government to allow saliva testing to be offered as an alternative to the nasopharyngeal PCR test for workers at the border, when the Roche-Simpson report recommended it be rolled out as soon as possible in September 2020?

On behalf of the Minister: there’s been a process to work through with identifying the correct use of saliva testing—and, in particular, how that is integrated with the nasopharyngeal PCR test, which we know is the most reliable gold-standard test—and, in addition, a tender process to run.

💬 Chris Bishop: Has he seen the comments of the Hon Phil Twyford on Facebook: “We are working on a longer-term border plan and exploring how we can expand MIQ that will allow more people into New Zealand.”; if so, can he share some more details of this quite important announcement made by Mr Twyford via a Facebook comment?

No, I am not aware of my colleague’s Facebook post.

💬 Chris Bishop: Will the vaccine roll-out scale up enough to complete the 493,837 doses in the next four weeks, as the Ministry of Health model indicates will happen?

On behalf of the Minister: he has been clear in his statements that the biggest influence on vaccination doses administered throughout this month and next will be supply. We’ll be receiving an update on supply very shortly and may need to adjust the model, but, currently, our current plan is the model as it is published.

💬 Hon Michael Wood: Which of the Government’s policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic does the Minister believe have contributed to New Zealand being ranked the No. 1 country in the Bloomberg COVID resilience index, recently updated?

Well, there could be many reasons, including our strong public health response, which included an excellent response at the border; the set-up, when we had no existing quarantine facilities, of an integrated managed isolation and quarantine facility; the excellent contact tracing system that we have built over time; and the wide-scale testing system, not to mention the development of multiple pieces of information technology to oversee this.

Question No. 11—Transport

11. to the Minister of Transport: How does Budget 2021 invest in rail?

Talofa lava, Mr Speaker. The Government is delivering on its pre-election commitment to invest in rail and develop domestic rail workshops to create jobs as part of our COVID-19 economic recovery plan. Budget 2021’s $1.3 billion investment in rail replaces locomotives and wagons and builds new rail workshops in Dunedin and Christchurch, new IT systems, maintenance, and renewals across KiwiRail’s 3,700 kilometre rail network, creating jobs and improving safety. These investments will create hundreds of jobs, as well as supporting the 4,000 good jobs currently provided by KiwiRail.

💬 Ingrid Leary: Supplementary, faamolemole. What are the benefits of building rail workshops?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: By investing in rail workshops in Dunedin and Christchurch, we’re going to create around 445 good local jobs and boost jobs in the civil engineering and construction sector throughout the wider supply chain. This will create apprenticeships and help upskill KiwiRail’s workforce. Instead of buying ready-made wagons from overseas, the new facility at Hillside will allow us to initially assemble around 1,500 wagons locally. This investment will mean local jobs, rebuilding expertise, youth training opportunities, and boosting Otago’s economy and making our railways more self-sufficient and resilient.

💬 SPEAKER: Order! I’m going to call a member in a second. I’m going to remind people that if they really want to ask questions, they’ve got stand up and take the call. They don’t—

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: But we don’t have any.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, the party has four.

💬 Ingrid Leary: Fa‘afetai lava. How does the Budget’s investment in rail build on the Government’s previous investments?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The $1.3 billion in Budget 2021 for rail builds on the Government’s revitalisation of rail, which includes a range of important investments such as reopening the Wairoa to Napier line, futureproofing the Auckland City Rail Link, bringing the rail line north of Auckland up to scratch to help with freight, building a third main line for Auckland, extending electrification to Pukekohe, future rail stations at Drury, 15 new electric trains into Auckland’s network, starting the Te Huia service between Hamilton and Auckland for commuters, and saving the Wairarapa line from deterioration with critical maintenance work. It’s a busy programme, and there’s more to come.

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: Supplementary question, Mr Speaker.

💬 SPEAKER: Is it about the Hutt?

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: It can be if you want it to be, Mr Speaker. Has the Minister seen any reports as to why it is that the National Party hates people getting jobs and there being sustainable transport caused by—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! Look, it’s not even Thursday, Mr Robertson. When the Minister’s acting for the Prime Minister in the House, I’m reluctant to—

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: Don’t tell her.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, I’ve just mentioned her and, therefore, it will come up on her feed.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Extra question?

💬 SPEAKER: Yes—extra question, Mr Woodhouse.

💬 Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he think an investment of $75 million for the privilege of assembling wagons at a cost of $23,000 per wagon more than the current procurement process represents good value for the taxpayer?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: In the first instance, I’d encourage the Opposition spokesperson on transport to check his figures. It’s $85 million that the Government is proudly investing into Dunedin and the Hillside workshops, following through on our election commitment, investing in the people, the communities, and the economy of Dunedin and Otago to create skilled jobs and opportunities for young people and to ensure that we have a resilient and reliable transport network. Unlike the previous Government, this Government won’t stand by and run the rail network into the ground. We’ll build up the skills and the infrastructure and the people to have a resilient and reliable rail network in this country.

💬 Hon David Parker: Would the re-establishment of carriage assembly at Hillside workshops have cost tens of millions of dollars less if the previous Government hadn’t shut the previous facility down?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I think that the member is right in making that assessment. Work that this Government has done in terms of building a plan for the future of rail reveals that the New Zealand rail network was in a period of managed decline under the previous Government, and we are very proud of the investments that we have made to ensure that rail, which delivers significant economic value—valued at $2.1 billion every year by the recent value of rail report—is fully realised to make sure that we have a resilient transport system and that we have good jobs for many New Zealanders in the rail system.

💬 Hon Member: Supplementary.

💬 SPEAKER: Well, I’ll call a member in a minute, but I’m going to ask people to settle down. I mean, it’s sort of like members here are getting more excited than my grandkids do playing with trains.

Question No. 12—Education

12. to the Minister of Education: Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s comments in response to questions about white privilege in relation to education that “It’s not part of our Government agenda” and “It’s not something that we’re teaching”?

on behalf of the Minister of Education: Yes.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: How does the Minister explain this Te Hurihanganui blueprint document guiding that programme in schools, which says, “Building critical consciousness means reflecting critically on the imbalance of power and resources in society, and taking anti-oppressive action to do something about it for the better. It means recognising white privilege,”?

White privilege is not part of the New Zealand Curriculum. I would like to inform the member, though, that the education system in the past hasn’t worked for everyone in this country. It is inequitable. One of the biggest reasons for this is systemic racism. Te Hurihanganui is one resource that works with communities to address this. Te Hurihanganui is a professional resource for teachers. Let me help the member understand the difference between teaching children curriculum and building and supporting teacher competence and capacity. Te Hurihanganui is about critical thinking, understanding who teachers are, the impact of their behaviour on students, and understanding others’ world view—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! First of all, the response is getting too long. This an area of discussion which a couple of weeks ago led us to some problems, and one of the things that my team has agreed is to ask people just to contemplate, both in their answers and in their interjections, the effect that it will have on the House if this area gets wound up in the way that it’s threatening to do.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: If teaching white privilege isn’t part of this Government’s agenda, why are teachers going to Ministry of Education accord teacher-only days where they are invited to “take a minute to list your own privileges. This might include things like white privilege, which we’ve been talking about a lot recently.”?

Teachers are required to teach the New Zealand’s Curriculum to our children. White privilege is not part of that. However, injustice, inequality, and privilege are themes that are explored in some teaching resources to build cultural competency amongst our teaching workforce. Not talking about these concepts does Pākehā a disservice, and Māori children will continue to grow up thinking their position at the bottom of the heap is their fault, rather than the systems that keep them there.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: Aren’t we far more likely to successfully address inequities, privileged or otherwise, by dealing with the truancy crisis in our schools than by transposing American culture wars into our classrooms?

On behalf of the Minister: that member needs to understand some of the underlying causes that are causing truancy.

💬 David Seymour: Can the Minister please help the New Zealand public and parents understand how Te Hurihanganui is a resource for teachers about white privilege, it’s a resource provided to teachers, and yet teachers are not teaching white privilege? How does the Minister reconcile those facts?

Te Hurihanganui is a professional development programme for educators. It was co-designed to address bias, strengthen equity, and accelerate educational achievement and wellbeing of Māori. At a practical level, building the community’s knowledge and experience might include things like New Zealand’s history, colonisation, and its effects.

💬 Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has she corrected the Prime Minister so she knows that under Labour, it is part of the agenda and we are teaching it?

In the context of the Prime Minister’s sayings and not the shortened version that the member has taken, no.