Utikere TangiTANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to take a call on the Building (Building Products and Methods Modular Components and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. It is even more particularly I guess desirable to follow that member because I know there are a number of new faces around the Chamber but colleagues on this side asked me who that was. Well the quality—oh and there we get the bow of acknowledgment from Mr Simpson the person who in his own words has the quality of parliamentary representation in the Coromandel. It is so good that people do not know who he is on this side of the House. The message for the Opposition quite simply is that my colleague Rachel Brooking will be here in 10 years' time. It's a little bit questionable for those on the other side of the House and perhaps we could refer to him later as the former member for the Coromandel in the future at some stage. I think he is thinking it is coming sooner than he may hope. It is a pleasure tonight to speak in support of the bill. In particular can I acknowledge the Minister the Hon Poto Williams for her work in this space. But in particular it is an absolute delight to listen to the Minister's agenda in relation to this piece of legislation because we on this side of the House in Government do want to lift the quality in the sector. We are passionate and determined in lifting the quality and this bill does exactly that. What this bill does is it seeks to amend the Building Act 2004 by playing its role in a wider suite of reforms that we intend to put to work moving forward so that the quality in that sector will do exactly what we want it do and that is to improve and increase.Can I acknowledge the work of colleagues on the Environment Committee. It was a pleasure for the committee that I sit on to progress some of this. I note that its first reading back in mid-May of last year has meant that it has perhaps been some time since it has come back before us. But the work that the Environment Committee has done in that space is none the less commendable.The rationale behind supporting this bill is as the Minister has said to provide an increased level of quality alongside the fact that we actually want a building sector industry and structure that inspires confidence that inspires trust but actually that also inspires more than an ounce of integrity as well.Dr Duncan Webb: Knowledgeable.TANGI UTIKERE: Knowledgeable—thank you Mr Webb. That's right knowledgeable—that's what we want indeed. This will be the first form of reform to the Building Act in around about 17 years. It is an Act that was put into place in 2004 and so it is pleasing that its time has come. What this will do is it will not just provide that confidence but actually provide certainty as well. When people are going about the conversation and the journey when it comes to construction and building their own homes for example what we want to make sure is that they are in the best position possible and that they are able to make well-informed decisions—not just any decisions but well-informed ones. This particular bill goes quite some way in seeking to address that. Why? Well simply because it introduces some specific product information requirements so that we end up with more informed decision-making as part of that process and actually that the selection and choice will be correct accurate and fundamentally right. We shouldn't just cursorily look at that and sweep that to one side as well—but not just the selection or the choice of the products but the installation that will follow that as well. We've heard already some contributions that align to faster consenting. Now my days in local government—and I know I'm not the only one that comes from that particular sector or has an interest. Actually all members in this House will have an interest in the local government sector because it is about local communities at its heart. But we all know that councils could do better when it comes to consenting. What this proposed legislation is doing is it is giving them another tool in the tool kit to deliver and do exactly that.One of the interesting things that a member opposite has alluded to is that this bill will introduce new offences but also along with that the potential for higher penalties that will serve as a disincentive for those that wish to perhaps flout the rules and not follow what is expected. So those opportunities that came through the select committee process will mean that that is a good change and it is proof that the select committee process is doing what it is intended to do.In terms of consenting I just could not resist but have a look at my own electorate. Consenting numbers just generally are on the up and we all know about that but this will go some way to increasing consenting opportunities in my own electorate of Palmerston North where if we look at the figures—[Interruption]—a fantastic place; it's a fantastic place thank you—in the year to December 2020 building consents in my city were approved for 524 new houses which was 18 percent up on those stats in the previous year. With these changes we are expecting and anticipating that we would see improvements in the sector and therefore that would flow on to those stats as well.Building and construction is obviously a really important sector to Palmerston North and actually not just Palmerston North but to the wider Manawatū and Whanganui region as well. So these changes will be well placed for regions such as mine to deal with the demand that undoubtedly comes our way and continues to come our way as well.In terms of other proposed changes that have come through the select committee process previous speakers have referred to modifying the commencement date. Now it may seem that actually pushing 12 months out to 15 months is not a lot of time but the feedback that the select committee received was that that would just be the sweet spot in terms of allowing those regulations to be developed—they are important regulations—as instruments and so that it is fair to everyone.It also extends the filing time frame for a charging document where local council for example might want to go down the path or the particular route around investigating a potential breach. It means that it gives councils and inspectorates time to gather the information that they need to not be forced into making a quick decision on whether or not they should proceed with filing a charging document and so it is well placed and another good addition to the piece of legislation coming back to the House as well.So having considered all of those factors I'm of the view that this is a fantastic piece of legislation. It is complimentary to the Government's programme of reform in this space and is yet another example of this Government delivering for our community delivering for local councils and local government and that is something that all members of this House should be very proud to support. On that basis I commend the bill to the House.