Judith Collins has called for Phil Twyford to resign over his recent comments about KiwiBuild.
In an interview with Interest on Wednesday, the Housing Minister wouldn't say for certain whether he still stood by the Government's goal of building 100,000 affordable homes in 10 years.
"It's like American nuclear ships in the 1980s - it's a neither confirm nor deny situation," he said.
When quizzed about the ambitious goal in Parliament that same day, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also shied away from committing to the 100,000 number.
Collins, Housing Spokesperson for the National Party, says Ardern and Twyford's hesitation says everything the country needs to know about the "failed programme".
"Phil Twyford's statement that he would 'neither confirm nor deny' whether the Government is still committed to building 100,000 KiwiBuild homes in 10 years confirms it is not," she said in a statement on Thursday.
"If it was, the Minister would say so rather than telling New Zealanders to wait for the results of KiwiBuild's 'reset'."
Earlier in the year, Twyford said the Government was "recalibrating" expectations for KiwiBuild after the scheme got off to a much slower start than expected. Just 84 houses have been built so far and only a third of them have sold - a bit off the mark from the promised 1000 homes in KiwiBuild's first year.
- KiwiBuild: Govt 'recalibrating' targets for under-fire housing scheme
- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern drops KiwiBuild interim targets
- KiwiBuild: Is the Government's flagship policy over?
Twyford has said he will resign if KiwiBuild fails to deliver on its targets - and Collins said that time has come.
"The only thing Phil Twyford has successfully built during his time in charge of KiwiBuild is a house of cards with all his flimsy promises to home-buyers, and that house has finally come crashing down. It's time for him to go."
She said removing Twyford from the equation means the Government could "kill off" KiwiBuild and focus on other housing initiatives.
When asked about the programme by Newshub and other media on Thursday, Twyford once again refused to say if he'd received advice the 100,000 homes target was no longer feasible.
He said he wouldn't be resigning and that he is "totally focused" on delivering a "reset" for KiwiBuild.
"Cabinet will make a decision about the targets and the whole KiwiBuild programme when they look at the reset package in June. Until then, I've got my head down delivering the broader housing programme."
Newshub.
