- $100m to free up Crown land in Auckland (with capacity for 1200 houses)

- $16.5m to expand Housing First programme

- $13m to help houses offenders after they leave prison

Another $100 million has been put towards freeing up disused school property, parks and other surplus Crown land in Auckland to build more houses on.

There is also more money for the innovative Housing First programme and for an initiative which houses people who have just been released from prison.

The $100m in new money for the Crown Land Programme would free up enough space for around 1200 houses, which are included in a state-run building programme announced earlier this month.

The land programme was launched In Budget 2015 with a $52m investment, and another $100m was invested in 2016. The Crown signs agreements with developers to build the properties.

The Government's biggest housing initiative was announced ahead of the Budget.

It has promised to build 34,000 houses in Auckland over the next 10 years, around a third of them social housing and the rest sold on the open market. Around 8300 existing houses will be demolished to make way for the new developments, meaning there will be a net gain of around 26,000 houses.

Adams said the surplus Crown land programme would eventually provide the land for 2700 of these houses.

The Housing First programme will receive $16.5m over the next four years, to allow it to expand into more regions. The initiative aims to place homeless people straight into private housing rather than shuffle them through emergency shelters or social housing, and then support them through social services.

Modelled on a Canadian programme, it is based on the idea that people in need should be housed first, before any issues such as addiction or mental health are addressed. It was first adopted by the National-led Government last year, when $3m was invested.

It is strongly supported by Labour and the Greens, who want it to be at the heart of the Government's response to homelessness.

The Positive Housing Pathways programme has been given another $13 million, which will be used to purchase 250 social houses places for people fresh out of prison.

The Budget also includes $155m for more emergency and transitional housing. This is part of a $300m investment announced by former Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett last year, which will eventually lead to 2200 emergency housing places being available at any one time.

The Government began funding emergency housing for the first time in 2015 as the dire housing shortage led to rising homeless numbers in the city.