Jones Shane: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeJones Shane: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 14 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14709. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.Hon SHANE JONES (Labour) to theMinister for Building and Construction: Does he agree with IPENZ Chief Executive Andrew Cleland that the Government needs to give the Institute greater powers to hold their own to account?Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister for Building and Construction): What has become clear following the collapse of the CTV Building in 2011 is that the accountability regime for engineers is woefully inadequate. I find it abhorrent that an engineer found to have done poor work can still be practising even after being stripped of their Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand registration. The Government is working to drastically improve the occupational regulations of engineers and I expect to be able to announce some changes next year. That extensive work that is under way will determine what additional powers the Institution of Professional Engineers would receive. It might be that the current structure of the institution playing all the roles it does may change as well.Hon Shane Jones: Why has it taken so long for the Institution of Professional Engineers to step up to the plate show accountability and bring this engineer into where he belongs—the dock next to the former chief executive officer of Pike River Coal?Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON: First of all I do not have responsibility directly for the Institution of Professional Engineers but I can tell the member that the institution itself does not have very many tools in its tool box to do such. That is why the whole case of the engineers involved in the CTV Building has been put to the police and the police are still currently investigating as to whether they will take a prosecution. I actually do not find it an acceptable regime where 115 people died in a building that was illegally designed built and certified and still no one held accountable. That is why I think that the regime must change.Hon Shane Jones: How much worse does a building failure need to be than the CTV Building collapse which killed 115 people before he secures accountability from the engineering professionals the Institution of Professional Engineers or are they all like Alan Reay—motivated by personal profit and not professional responsibility?Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON: Well I repeat again that I do not find the current regime acceptable. I do not think that the current regime is acceptable. That is why we have been consulting with the engineering profession bringing an issues paper to the market early in the new year. We would hope to have legislative changes during the course of next year and I look forward to the support of members from the other side. In the mean time I am advised by the Institution of Professional Engineers that the only action it can take is deregistration and even that does not prevent an engineer under the current regime from still practising. I find that just woeful. [Interruption]Raymond Huo: Supplementary question—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order!Raymond Huo: That is a very good start! In light of his earlier answers given that 70 international students died in the collapsed CTV Building designed by Institution of Professional Engineers - registered engineer Mr Alan Reay how does his denial of liability and lack of accountability impact on the Government’s efforts to show other international partners that we have learnt the lessons of the CTV Building collapse?Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON: Again as a Minister I can work only within the bounds of the law. I do not have the ability to prosecute somebody. I do have the ability to put the material in the hands of the police so that they make that decision and that material is with the police right now. I have to say that I find it a bit galling that when I make even a modest statement about how I find the regime unacceptable I receive lawyers’ letters that day saying “Say anything more and we will be suing you.”Hon Shane Jones: Does it strike the Minister as odd that the former chief executive officer of Pike River Coal mining engineer Mr Peter Whittall was in the dock for failures associated with Pike River Coal yet Mr Reay who was identified as the primary cause of the collapse of the CTV Building which killed 115 people is getting off scot-free continuing to trade and profit in the Christchurch rebuild?Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON: Yes I do find that an unacceptable dilemma and I am hopeful that the police will soon have a decision on the CTV Building.