Grant Robertson

MP for Wellington Central

Finance Spokesperson

11 July 2016

Joyce caught out telling porkies on dividend

Steven Joyce has been caught out telling lies about the dividends National will take from Housing New Zealand over the next two years, Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson says.

"In his panicked and desperate response to Labour's plan to address the housing crisis, Steven Joyce has resorted to simply making things up.

"Yesterday, and again this morning, Steven Joyce has said that Housing New Zealand will not be paying a divided to the Government over the next two years. But this year’s Budget documents show dividends from Housing New Zealand of $38 million in 2016 and $54 million in 2017 going into the Government's coffers.

"National has treated Housing New Zealand as a cash cow for years, taking hundreds of millions of dollars of dividends, and clearly plans to keep doing so. At the same time, as the need grows, it is also continuing to sell off state houses.

“Steven Joyce is just making things up.

"Labour is being absolutely clear. We will stop National's state house sell-off and we will not take dividends from Housing New Zealand.

“That money will be reinvested in building more state houses. We will restore its public service mandate and give it a clear and single focus – to house people in need,” Grant Robertson says.

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