Henare Tau: Building Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Henare Tau: Building Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:643;Page:13261] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 I want to make just a few points basically to do with the DIY industry. This nation is built—I ask members to excuse the pun—on the back of DIY work. DIY work has built some of our most famous baches and getaway homes. Our country has been built on the back of DIY— 
Russell Fairbrother 
: That doesn’t change in the bill. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Yes it does. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: It does not. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: I am sorry; it does. I know that the member is under pressure from Mr Nash. I know he has to make a few inroads here in order to make sure he gets his name before the public because Mr Nash is biting at his tail but the member should not allow himself to be sidelined by that. We have to make sure that in this country the tradition of No. 8 fencing wire the tradition of the DIY man—and the DIY lady as of late—is kept. 
There is no doubt in my mind that under this bill home affordability is also under threat. The issue of affordability is that with these changes one can guarantee that the price of a house will rise. And who will bear the brunt of that? It will be our children. It is easy for us to stand up and say they will work and get the deposit they need but the more we load bureaucracy on top of young people the less likely it is they will get their own home. The Minister should know that; he has had some experience in the building industry. The more bureaucracy we load on young people the less likely it is they will be able to afford the deposit for their first home. I will give an example from the electorate of Te Atatu where I and some other people work and reside. 
Hon Chris Carter 
: I thought I had a 12000 vote majority. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: The member does. That is going. Like all things it will end. The average price of a property on the peninsula there is $350000-odd and it is going up. There has been a 40 percent increase in the rateable value of homes in Te Atatu this year. That is a shocking indictment and this bill adds another layer of cost on to that. 
Where are we going with regard to the DIY issues? Yes Maori love to go on to the old papakainga to the family homestead and maybe throw up a shack. We call it a home; some people call it a shack. But will this bill stop DIY people from being able to throw up a shack so that maybe one day they can move into something better? You can bet your bottom dollar it will—not you Mr Chairperson and I apologise for using the word “you”. The public can bet their bottom dollar that this legislation will stop the DIY tradition this country was built on. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: Speak to the part. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: The problem with regard to that member is that he is trying to play catch-up. He is trying to play catch-up in his own electorate because the Deputy Prime Minister was the one who signed Mr Nash’s nomination—and boy does he feel stink about that! 
But I come back to the bill. The last issue I want to touch on very briefly is that if we have higher compliance costs it is natural that house prices will rise. Who bears the brunt of that? It is not the local authority or the Government; it is the homeowner or the prospective homeowner. It is just another tax and we know we do not like higher taxes.