1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,200 Speaker 1: Kayger Order has come up with a new plan to 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: help save the agency. The turnaround plan will refocus on 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: getting back to basics. They will still build and manage 4 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: social housing by selling nine hundred homes a year that 5 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: are no longer fit for purpose and renewing older homes 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: that needs And they say the number of state homes 7 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: will not change, but then again, nor will they increase. 8 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: And under the plan, debt is forecast to be one 9 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: point eight billion dollars lower in twenty seven to twenty 10 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: eight compared to the twenty twenty three forecasts of a 11 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: couple of years ago. So Labor Housing spokesperson Kieren mcinnaughty 12 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: is with it now? Hallikieren? Oh, sorry I double clicked Hallakieren. 13 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 2: Good morning. 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: So the government and the chairman and the CEO says 15 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: that the refocus is necessary because the agency is in 16 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: financial strife. Do you agree and do you agree that 17 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:51,919 Speaker 1: something had to change? 18 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 2: No? I don't agree, And I'm quite perplexed that the 19 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 2: Minister will stand up and celebrate this as when the 20 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 2: need for social houses continue to grow, the housing crisis 21 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 2: committees to get worse, and his solution seems to be 22 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 2: not building houses but yes. 23 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,040 Speaker 1: The chairman and the CEO also said there was financial 24 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: strife and you can't build houses if you don't have money. 25 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 2: Well, actually the same bloke said in front of the 26 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 2: Select Committee of Parliament that any organization with their level 27 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 2: of assets would be quite comfortable with the ratio of 28 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 2: debt that they hold. The chairmen and the CEO are 29 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 2: doing what the government ask that's what they do. The 30 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 2: Minister has made it quite clear heading into government that 31 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 2: they believe that there is no role for the government 32 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,119 Speaker 2: to build state houses. The problem with that position, of course, 33 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 2: is that if the government is it involved in building 34 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 2: state houses, they don't get built and people don't get homes. 35 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: True, but the chairman also said the king Aura had 36 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 1: significant growth over the past five years. That's under your watch. 37 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,639 Speaker 1: You delivered thirteen thousand homes. You refurbished three four hundred 38 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: of them. But that growth was unsustainable. So it's time 39 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: for a cup of tea. 40 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 2: There was always changes under way at cling Oral. Let's 41 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 2: not forget it was a brand new organization when the 42 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,959 Speaker 2: Labor government came in in twenty seventeen. The New Zealand 43 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 2: Housing Corporation existed solely to sell state houses. Previous government 44 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 2: ended up with fifteen hundred fewer than what they started with. 45 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 2: And then you're right, we built pretty much fourteen thousand homes. 46 00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,679 Speaker 2: That is a massive amount of growth, and there was 47 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 2: always efficiencies happening along the way. But because that was 48 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 2: happening at such a fast pace, there's no excuse to 49 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 2: turn around and make a case that is unsustainable. If 50 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 2: you remember when the Prime Minister and the Minister stood 51 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 2: up and made this case at the podium in Parliament, 52 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 2: they talked about the death. They didn't once talk about 53 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 2: the value of the assets in the way that that 54 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 2: has grown, which has actually grown at a faster rate 55 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 2: than the debt. There's forty seven billion dollars worth of 56 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 2: assets under kying Aura's books. They don't talk about that 57 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 2: because we knew. Compare the assets to the debt, it's 58 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:11,680 Speaker 2: a completely different story. 59 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: So if you were still in charge, you would be 60 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: facing the same books. You've already said that the pace 61 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: of building that happened under your charge previously was extraordinarily fast. 62 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: Would you have continued that fast pace and continued to 63 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,799 Speaker 1: throw the agency into even more debt crisis. 64 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 2: Well, we've got to be careful with their wording here, 65 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 2: I've just explained to you that there was no debt crisis. 66 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 2: There is a large amount of debt, but there's also 67 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 2: considerable amount of assets. This is a jack up in 68 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: my view. The report that established this case was flawed, 69 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 2: that contained factual errors, and it just coincidentally landed with 70 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 2: the same recommendations. Then was exactly where the previous National 71 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 2: government were. This was always going to happen. What I'm 72 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:02,320 Speaker 2: concerned about is that they have walked away from building 73 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 2: houses to those people that need them. So let's compere 74 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 2: what was happening when there was up to five thousand 75 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 2: homes being built a year and now there's going to 76 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 2: be no growth. So you extrapolate this over the years, 77 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,760 Speaker 2: how many people are going to miss out on a home. 78 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 2: We've already seen homelessness grow. We've seen stories of people 79 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 2: living in cars and garages and tents and on the street. 80 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 2: It's only going to get worse. It's the exact same 81 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,720 Speaker 2: situation that this country was left in the last time 82 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:35,040 Speaker 2: the National Party were in government. 83 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,080 Speaker 1: Kieren Mechanltie, thank you for your time. 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