Penk Chris; Brownlee GerryHon CHRIS PENK (Minister for Building and Construction): I begin my remarks today by acknowledging those in the gallery who have gathered for the very particular purpose of the acknowledgment of the abuse in State care that was visited upon far too many New Zealanders over a number of decades including embarrassingly recent times. The subject of my remarks will be something different but I did just want to take a moment to acknowledge the courage of those who have gathered here today. The things that we will hear in the next few hours will not be easy for politicians to say but they will be harder for those to hear.Turning to other matters I do just want to focus on the importance of the work in the building and construction portfolio that this Government is undertaking as part of our broader remit to rebuild the economy so that we can afford services in health education and other matters of importance to Kiwis. The importance of the building and construction sector which is currently facing difficult times can be measured in a number of different ways. As a percentage of GDP it might be as much as 6 to 10 percent on some measurements with ripple effects out to the rest of the economy of course. One in 10 workers is directly employed in the management of the built environment. In terms of our carbon emissions some 20 percent of New Zealand's carbon emissions are directly involved in the construction and in the use of buildings. So there's a lot at stake for many people who are directly affected by the workings of the industry but of course also for those who live work and play in our built environment which is all of us.So what is the Government doing about it? What is the Government doing to ensure that we have a better built environment? The answer is happily for me Mr Speaker—and I can assure you and the rest of the House—that we are making changes going beyond the typical thing that has happened in this House far too often in the past including particularly in recent years which is problem definition at best and outright inertia at worst.We must take measures to ensure that we have affordable housing supply and for those opposite I challenge them to consider that by opposing measures that would have the effect of making housing more affordable and more available to people by not being prepared to support any changes that would actually enable that they remind me of that famous expression that Everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die."As it happens it is a false choice to say we can either have quality versus affordability or sustainability versus affordability. The better way to look at it is to say that if we can have much better productivity then the people who know what they're doing in this country can be enabled by the Government to get on and do it. And that means removing red tape and removing regulation that is not justifiable. Of course there will be occasions on which sensible regulation is needed to maintain minimum standards and of course we would acknowledge that. But we must challenge ourselves to take a risk-based approach that acknowledges all the different considerations makes the trade-offs appropriately so that we can have houses and other buildings that New Zealanders can actually afford to use.Part of this is to ask what part of the building control system we can make more efficient. Do we need to issue consents for relatively straightforward low-risk properties such as small structures? I refer to our granny flat policy developed in conjunction with our friends in the New Zealand First Party. I refer also to measures that will make it much more possible to have a greater range of innovative products in New Zealand increasing choice increasing affordability. And I shout out not only to our New Zealand First colleagues again but also to our friends in the ACT Party.I see Mr Cameron Luxton MP nodding. He is the only member of this House who is actually a licensed building practitioner. I asked him his view on these matters and I asked the view of those who are actually engaged in building in this country who may or may not usually be part of the political process but whose views should carry more weight in Wellington than they have over many years. They are the ones who are engaged in the work. They know what is needed and our role in this House should be to support them to do that work well not to get in their way.We also need to think about how we can ensure better land supply better infrastructure and better decisions in the resource management space that actually allow an environment to be built in the first place and I acknowledge the work of Chris Bishop and also Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court who are working hard to ensure we have those settings right so that we can actually have the ability to build in the first place.So it's a whole-of-Government effort. We're engaged in the process of working through sensible changes that will enable a better environment for New Zealand as part of our plan to rebuild the economy and get New Zealand back on track.SPEAKER: I call Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan. Congratulations by the way."