Ihumātao

PHOTO: Housing Minister Megan Woods in Parliament. Photo credit: Parliament TV

The Government’s Ihumātao deal is coming under scrutiny as Housing Minister Megan Woods is accused of using a KiwiBuild programme as a “slush fund”.

The Housing Minister rejected the assertion by National’s housing spokesperson Nicola Willis, saying she’s “confused” and doesn’t understand what the KiwiBuild programme in question is for.

The disputed south Auckland land was purchased from Fletcher Building in December for $30 million by the Government’s Land for Housing Programme, which falls under the KiwiBuild umbrella.

Willis asked Dr Woods in Parliament on Wednesday how she could justify using funds to purchase the land at Ihumātao that were “explicitly earmarked in Budget 2020 for KiwiBuild homes”.

Budget 2020 states that the Land for Housing Programme is “intended to facilitate the development of KiwiBuild affordable homes”.

Dr Woods said Willis was “confused” and hadn’t looked at the broader purpose of the Land for Housing Programme, which was to “acquire land suitable for residential development” that it can “on-sell to developers”.

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