Hawkins George: Building Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Hawkins George: Building Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1784] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Labour—Manurewa) 
: 
 The last speaker—the National member for West Coast - Tasman Chris Auchinvole—was very interesting. He tried to grab acclaim for the Building Amendment Bill (No 2) which the Hon Shane Jones actually did all the work for as he also did last week with the Unit Titles Bill. 
This Government is in a situation that is a wee bit like the hare and the tortoise. For the first 100 days the hares on the Government side of the House ran flat stick. They went everywhere day and night running flat stick and then they went to sleep. They ran out of work so they picked up Labour bills to bring into the House. Maurice Williamson a person whom I have quite a bit of time for—[ 
Interruption 
]—no I do not have any for Phil Heatley—got up to say that they were going to carry on this pretence a bit further. The Local Government and Environment Committee will sit day and night and then he will do some work himself. Well not really—his officials will do some work. They will get a couple of Supplementary Order Papers into the bill as well. 
This is typical of a Government that has run out of puff. A couple of weeks ago the Government had its big Job Summit. Just a few hundred yards down the road was the Manukau City Council. What are the council officers doing? They are suggesting that building consent and resource consent fees should be increased by 20 percent. They are doing that at the same time as the Government is bringing this bill to the House. You see Manukau is doing something quite unusual. It is keeping on those officers even though it does not have the work for them. 
Chris Auchinvole 
: Pardon? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The council does not have the work but it is keeping the officers there in case there is a turn-up of work in the building sector. 
This bill of Shane Jones’ is I think quite useful but it is not as urgent as it was because the number of buildings starting has reduced. Everyone knows it has reduced— 
Colin King 
: Preparing for the country to grow again. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Oh there is a man who wants the country to grow again! He had better change party if he wants that to happen because it will not happen under National. I ask members to look back. Things were rosy last year; what are they like now? We know who to blame; we know it is those members over there. 
This bill has some very good purpose. However the urgency that was there is not there any more. 
I can remember when I was Mayor of Papakura that building inspectors used to have red pens and they would delight in finding fault. They would find only one fault on a plan put a big cross by it and give it back. If somebody fixed up that fault and brought the plan back the inspectors would find another one. Things have changed and it is really important that councils themselves make the biggest changes. This legislation will make it easier for them. 
The key thing is that the bill is part of a coordinated approach to provide more affordable homes. We can hear Mr Heatley laughing in the background. Of course he is trying to sell off State houses in the wealthy areas and make the old people living in them shift out. We know that. He can keep on laughing as much as he likes but this bill will be available to people to speed up the process. What I am saying is that councils like Manukau City Council which is putting up its rates by a disgraceful 3.9 percent will have staff twiddling their thumbs. The Building Amendment Bill (No 2) will not speed up the process initially; it will in the future because things will change. 
I do not think it is all doom and gloom. This bill comes at a time when the global recession is really just starting to get under way. Time will tell how many buildings will be started this year. I suggest that it will not be anywhere near as many as were started in recent years. When Shane Jones did the work on this bill the economy of the world was much healthier. I have to thank Shane Jones because without him the National Government would not have much on the Order Paper to deal with. I think the National Government should go and shake Shane Jones’ hand and say that this is good. 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: This is a leadership bid. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Maurice Williamson has made his way up to the middle benches; I used to like it more when he was on the front bench. He deserves to be on the front bench but I think John Key listened to Bill English too much dumped Maurice Williamson out of the Cabinet line-up and made him a Minister outside Cabinet. 
I do not want to hold up this bill because the Minister of Building and Construction has made out how urgent it is and how the select committee will be sitting at all sorts of times day and night to get this bill through. But I say that the urgency is not really there any more. These bills are a part of the National Government’s bluster. It is trying to con the public that the Government is doing something and that everything is urgent. Well the people are not that silly and they will realise what the Government is doing. I think that in time people will see through the very thin veneer of the National Government.