6. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister : Does he have confidence in his Minister for Building and Housing; if so, why?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.

Hon Members : Why?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : Well, because he is getting on with the job of increasing the supply of housing, particularly in Auckland.

Andrew Little : When he said yesterday that there were no first right of refusal issues with the Crown land in Auckland, does he now accept that was wrong, and did he get that wrong because Nick Smith gave him bad advice?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : No. You would have to look at the whole transcript. The point I was making in terms of the right of first refusal is that it is not triggered in Auckland when it comes to the Tāmaki Collective.

Andrew Little : Now that he has admitted that the 500 hectares of Auckland Crown land was a guesstimate and has also admitted that the four identified sites shown to journalists are only “conceptual”, how many actual houses will his Government be building for real families to live in?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : In the last 12 months there have been 8,500, and I am confident that parcels of land will be identified as being on track by October of this year, and houses will be built by 2016.

Andrew Little : Can he confirm that this is the situation so far: firstly, the policy was leaked early; secondly, some of the land was occupied by power substations and cemeteries; thirdly, it turned out that the Government did not actually have the 500 hectares promised; fourthly, some of the land was not even owned by the Crown; fifthly, it turned out the Government could not sell the land without giving iwi first dibs; and, lastly, it turns out the Government has already given iwi first dibs to the land on Moire Road, and the whole thing is going to wind up in court?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : No, but if I did visit the cemetery I know what I would find there: the Labour Party, because according to its review, it is dead.

Mr SPEAKER : Order! That answer will not help the order of this House.

Andrew Little : Has he seen his Minister’s comments today blaming the failure of this policy on a reporter creating “enormous pressure” by asking too many questions; if so, can he confirm that the list of people he blames so far for this housing crisis is now Labour, first-home buyers, the council, officials, and TV3’s Brook Sabin—everybody but the Minister for Building and Housing?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : No, but I do remember the Leader of the Opposition being in his job for less than a couple of months and starting to get all scratchy with the media.

Andrew Little : When Auckland house prices are going up by $19,000 in 1 month and the shortage of houses is getting worse every day on his watch, does he not think that Auckland families deserve more than the half-baked, last-minute fiascos that pass for a housing policy under this Minister?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : Far from it. Let us establish the facts. House prices doubled under the previous Labour Government—doubled. House prices went up in Auckland faster than they are going up under a National Government. Under a National Government we have reformed the Resource Management Act and will continue to do so. Under a National Government we have identified special housing areas, and we are going to fix it. Under a National Government we have taken off the tariffs that are applying to imported goods. Under a National Government we will be releasing land. We are getting the job done, but the reason it is such a big job is that we inherited such a mess from people who, again, did absolutely nothing in Government.

Andrew Little : Is it his position, then, that his Minister for Building and Housing has the Auckland housing problem fully under control?

Rt Hon JOHN KEY : What I can say about the Minister for Building and Housing is that he is outstanding. [Interruption] There you go—do you want to clap? [Interruption]

Mr SPEAKER : Order! You have had your fun. We are now moving to question No. 7. [Interruption] Order! I have given a warning. It now needs to be taken seriously, otherwise one member in particular will be having a very early shower.