Phil Twyford
Housing Spokesperson

MEDIA STATEMENT

7 March 2017

Those in glasshouses, Dr Smith…

Nick Smith has got it wrong again, says Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford, using one of the most oft-repeated phrases of the last eight years.

Dr Smith today accused Mr Twyford of being “tricky” in a press release issued yesterday that said dwelling consents fell five per cent between January 2017 and January 2016. Contrary to Dr Smith’s claim, Mr Twyford’s numbers do not exclude townhouses and apartments.

Statistics New Zealand data shows that the trend-adjusted number of dwelling consents in January 2017 was 2,260, down five per cent from 2,368 in January 2016. Trend-adjusted data is used to identify underlying trends in ‘lumpy’ data.

“Even a person of Nick Smith’s limited abilities should be able to see that 2,260 is less than 2,368.

“Of course, this is far from the first time Dr Smith has got it wrong:

• He said he would build 60 houses on land beside a motorway where houses can’t be built

• He said he would build houses on a cemetery

• He said he would make building supplies like wallboard cheaper, then it got more expensive

• He said he would build 39,000 houses in Special Housing Areas, and delivered a fraction of that number

• Tired of stuffing up the housing market, he then promised to clean up the rivers, by allowing more crap in them

“Bumbling Nick Smith has done it again. Now, if only he could build some houses,” says Phil Twyford.

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