New Zealand was in the midst of the biggest housing boom in New Zealand's history, he said. "We are on track to build 85,000 houses across New Zealand this term."
Little said Labour's Kiwibuild plan, to build 100,000 affordable houses in 10 years, was backed by a majority of New Zealanders.
Key shot back: "A sound bite does not make a plan," he said - that sound bite made the telly, too.
"If the best that New Zealand can do is 100,000 houses over 10 years then we are in serious trouble, because this Government will see 100,000 constructed over four years."
Greens co-leader Metiria began question time by wishing Key a Happy [55th] Birthday, and made her own wish that he could answer the housing questions she had put to him.
They had been transferred by the Government to Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith. Buy she got the chance later to ask Key a question and it was an important question for what it didn't say.
Instead of repeating her controversial call for house prices to fall by up to 50 per cent - which Labour backed away from at a million miles an hour - she attempted to reframe the issue in terms of the gap between prices and incomes - otherwise known as backing away.
Turei: "Does he agree that for homes to be more affordable for families, the gap between house prices and incomes needs to reduce?"
But Key did not let her forget what she had said: "If house prices in New Zealand were to halve, that is a war on the poor," he said.
Winston Peters, undeterred by interjections on his grammar, directed his housing question to Nick Smith: "Why is the minister blaming everybody but the Government and himself for a result that sees us building less houses than we built [interruption] - or fewer - many less...
"Call it what you like. It is crisis sunshine. We are building fewer houses now than we built 42 years ago."
Postcript: Metiria Turei says she has not backed down and she stands by her comments that house prices must fall.
