The Government’s ambitious $2 billion KiwiBuild 100,000-home scheme will fall 90 per cent short on its first-year target, according to the Opposition’s Judith Collins but the Government says more places will be announced and built to meet the target.

Collins asked Housing Minister Phil Twyford how many KiwiBuild homes would be finished by July 1, 2019. That date is the inaugural or first-year anniversary of the scheme which started on July 1, 2018.

Collins asked: “What housing developments announced under the KiwiBuild programme have houses that are due to be completed before July 1st 2019, listed by number of houses and name of development?”

Twyford replied: “There have been five developments announced under the KiwiBuild programme that I am advised are due to be completed by 1 July 2019. These include 10 homes in Northlake, Wanaka, 20 homes in High Street, Lower Hutt, 19 homes in Mason Square, Otahuhu, 30 homes in McLennan, Papakura and 21 homes in Marfell, New Plymouth.” end quote.

I keep thinking about all those poor people ‘locked out’ of the housing market during the election campaign in 2017. I wonder if they are still all living in cars or under bridges somewhere? quote.

Collins tweeted this morning: “That’s 100, not 1000” but one Twitter follower attacked her.

“How many did your lot build while this issue ballooned during your three terms? You denied and denied and denied until you got kicked out and still seem to think you have a right to comment on this. end quote.

Oh, but she does have the right to comment on this, because Labour campaigned on Kiwibuild. To then find it will fall 90% short by the time the government has been in power for almost 2 years is disgraceful, and the opposition is quite right to pick up on it. quote.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development this month indicated major KiwiBuild milestones had already been reached.

“To date, over 4000 KiwiBuild homes are contracted to be built and nearly 10,000 more KiwiBuild homes are planned to be built in our large-scale developments, including at Unitec, Māngere, Porirua, and Mount Roskill,” he said.

“KiwiBuild staff are working closely with developers to finalise contracts,” he said, citing this month’s Wellington Company’s apartment developments in Mount Cook and Lower Hutt.

“We’re working hard towards the targets we’ve set,” the spokesman said. end quote.

Wasn’t it supposed to be 1000 in the first year and 10,000 every year thereafter? Yet so far, after 18 months, we have 100? That is not a major milestone. It is a disaster. quote.

Last year, Twyford told the Herald: “We’re going to be as ambitious as possible. There is a $2b cash injection for KiwiBuild over 10 years and we will recycle that money over and over,” he said of the state buying the properties, then on-selling to first-home buyers. “It’s not going to happen in the first week. We’ve always said we’ll step it up over three years to hit the 10,000-a-year target.” end quote.

With 100 on target for the first year, I think you are going to have your work cut out to make it anywhere near 1,000 houses a year, let alone 10,000. Yet another government promise fails to meet expectations, and there is much more of this to come.