Nick Smith hides shameful vacant house numbers
Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford has lodged an official complaint against Housing Minister Nick Smith with
Parliament’s Speaker for refusing to release data on the number of vacant state houses around the country.
“Nick Smith is clearly embarrassed by the high number of Housing NZ properties lying empty and boarded up. The total was
2,734 back in May when the Minister last released the numbers,” says Phil Twyford.
“It is a travesty that National should allow so many houses to lie vacant in the middle of a housing crisis when so many
people desperately need a roof over their heads.
“But that is no excuse for Nick Smith to withhold that information from the public.
“I have routinely been provided this information by the Minister’s office in the past. But on the eve of the election
campaign Dr Smith seems to have shut up shop. Refusing to answer written parliamentary questions is a breach of
Parliament’s Standing Orders and that’s why I have complained to the Speaker.
“Attached below is a copy of Dr Smith’s highly selective and partial answer to my question. His office has refused to
answer it properly.”
06402 (2014) Published - Housing - Corrected Reply
Question: How many Housing New Zealand homes were recorded as vacant as a number and in percentage of total Housing New
Zealand stock, broken down by reason, number of bedrooms, by HNZ Reporting Office and region, and in total, in the month
of June 2014 quarter, if any?
Portfolio: Housing
Minister: Hon Dr Nick Smith
Date Lodged:08/07/2014
Answer Text: Housing New Zealand advises that the number of vacant and ready to let properties was 629 properties or
0.92 percent of the total housing stock. The numbers by region are: • Community Group Housing: 9 • East and South
Auckland: 105 • Northland and Western and Central Auckland: 128 • Southern Region: 88 • Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East
Coast and Taranaki: 78 • Wellington, Manawatu and Hawkes Bay: 221 I do not consider it a good use of Housing New
Zealand’s time to break down this information by number of bedrooms. This is also my answer to parliamentary question
06405 (2014).
ends