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Housing Minister Chris Carter has three more houses than the people he wants to help into their first home - but he rejects the suggestion that property investors like himself and some fellow MPs are guilty of pushing property prices out of the reach of first-home buyers.
Mr Carter has a property that he rents out in Auckland, as well as his Te Atatu home and a new bach on Waiheke Island.
As Housing Minister, he has responded to two reports on the Auckland housing crisis by saying the Government wants to improve the supply of cheaper housing in the region.
Possible action he has suggested includes making more land land available for housing, requiring developers to include cheap housing in new developments, and curtailing property speculation.
Finance Minister Michael Cullen is expected to announce changes that would enable Inland Revenue to tax the profits on the sale of properties bought with the intention of resale.
The existing tax is aimed at speculators and property developers who buy and sell properties, rather than homeowners who live in their houses or take rental properties on as long-term investments.
Speculators have long been one of the factors blamed for surging property prices in Auckland.
Referring to Mr Carter's properties, a spokesman for the minister said he had often admitted that the retirement investments of baby boomers, including his own, had contributed to rising house prices "but they are just one contributing factor in an international phenomenon".
Other MPs with rental properties in Auckland also denied they were contributing to house price rises in the city.
As well as her North Shore family home, Labour MP Ann Hartley and her partner have two rental properties which they have owned for at least 15 years.
"They are an investment that we chose to make a long, long time ago," Ms Hartley said.
"It's not the only investment we have and, like a lot of people, it's future investments for your superannuation."
Labour MP Lynne Pillay has owned a rental property in central Auckland with her partner for at least 10 years. "It certainly hasn't been speculative."
She said it was important to provide good rental accommodation for people who couldn't afford to buy.
