Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard
Question No. 5—Housing
5. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of Housing: How many KiwiBuild houses were built in January 2022, if any, and is KiwiBuild performing to her expectations?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): As of the end of January 2022, there were 917 new KiwiBuild houses being built, and 591 have been contracted and are due to begin construction soon. These will be in addition to the 1,304 KiwiBuild homes completed to date. None were completed in January; I note that January is always the quietest month in the building sector, where builders typically and traditionally take a well-deserved break. So this is in line with my expectations.
Chris Bishop: Was her expectation of KiwiBuild that it would have built more than 1,304 houses since it began?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I notice the new spokesperson for housing for the National Party is taking the easy, classic, Lite FM line on KiwiBuild. He may not have noticed that there was a reset of the KiwiBuild scheme in September 2019, when targets were removed. KiwiBuild is performing to our expectations.
Chris Bishop: In light of that answer, can she confirm that her expectation is that KiwiBuild will have only built just over 1,300 houses around 4½ years into the programme?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: What I can and will happily confirm to that member is that we are happy with the record of 1,304 houses being built, 917 currently under construction, and a further 591 due to begin construction very soon over a 4½-year period. I will put that against the 100 affordable houses the National Party in Government delivered over nine long years.
Chris Bishop: Why has KiwiBuild only built 1,304 houses since it started?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Because the KiwiBuild programme had to start from a zero position of any Government support for the building of affordable housing. I point to the 100 houses that the special housing areas the National Party put in place delivered over nine years of Government.
Chris Bishop: How many houses have been built at Ihumātao, following the purchase of land there through the KiwiBuild Land for Housing Programme?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As the member well knows, the land at Ihumātao was not purchased for the purposes of KiwiBuild; it was purchased through the Land for Housing Programme. So there was never any intention of building KiwiBuild houses on that land.
Chris Bishop: Has she received any advice in recent days in how changes, either up or down, in the official cash rate—including changes of up to 100 basis points—may affect how easy it is for people to purchase a KiwiBuild home and service the mortgage on it?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Ours is a Government that is always committed to policy settings that will help first-home buyers, and have a steady programme of work—so on most days, I receive advice.
