Budget 2024: Labour attacks alleged Budget leaks, after Chris Bishop confirms Kāinga Ora only told to end housing grant applications yesterday

Housing Minister Chris Bishop confirmed that Kāinga Ora was only told to stop applications for the now-axed first home grant the day or day before the news was announced to the public.

He said the decision to kill the scheme had been made prior, with the rest of the Budget, but the Government told Kāinga Ora the news this week becuase it needed the agency to take its website down to stop people from applying for the grant, which gives first home buyers up to $10,000 towards a deposit for a first home.

Kāinga Ora is the Government agency that administers the scheme.

Hints of the grant’s demise dropped on Tuesday morning ahead of National’s weekly caucus meeting.

Later that day NZ First Minister Shane Jones appeared to confirm that a change was coming in the Budget. When asked about the grant, he said that reporters would need to wait until Budget day. On Tuesday night, Newshub reported the grant was gone. Other media soon followed.

On Wednesday, at 1.30, Bishop confirmed the scheme was gone.

The timeline fits with the argument that the Government quickly announced the demise of the scheme to avoid an expensive glut of applications in the week that remained until the end of the scheme was formally announced.

Labour alleges a leak forced the Government to scramble, while the Government denies there was a leak and says the announcement was always planned for this week.

Labour’s Housing Spokesman Kieran McAnulty said the “only reason this was announced on Wednesday was because it was leaked the night before”.

“The Government tried to keep this quiet until the Budget in the hope it would be overshadowed by the other announcements”.

McAnulty said there “will be people who were about to apply for the grant but have missed out because of the Government’s mismanagement and disorganisation”.

Bishop said the decision to scrap the grants was made as part of the Budget.

“We signed-off on the decision some time ago, but Kāinga Ora was not told either until yesterday morning or the afternoon before,” Bishop said.

“Up until the point at which we told them it was a Budget secret… we had to tell them obviously because we wanted to take the website so people couldn’t apply,” he said.

Bishop made the remarks while touring a factory in his electorate with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Luxon spoke about New Zealand’s frustrations that flights to repatriate people stuck in New Caledonia have been paused as the focus on the island pivots security for a visit by French President Emmanual Macron.

“We are talking with the French on a regular basis, in Paris in Noumea, and in Wellington as well,” Luxon said.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters earlier expressed frustration with the pace of change.

“We just have to be patient and wait. We understand New Zealanders’ frustration, we’re frustrated ourselves.”

“We just have to be patient and wait ... I can assure you everything we could possibly do from the word go, we’ve set out to and that’s what our responsibilities are.”