Cosgrove Clayton: Building Bill — In Committee Procedure 
Cosgrove Clayton: Building Bill — In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:619;Page:14844] 
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 I want to touch on a couple of the things that Mr Ardern said on Part 4 and schedule 3. This debate is very interesting because there is such a large contrast. We have those members opposite and I think this may include Mr Prebble who say that market forces will fix this problem. We have heard a bit about Norm Kirk tonight and how he built his place in Kaiapoi. 
I can also give an example from my patch to members opposite. It is the case of a woman who came to see me about a leaky home. A builder a number of “subbies” and other folk had built this place in Kaiapoi and it was a disaster for her. Market forces did not help her. She could not go and chase down the builder the developer or the “subbies” many of whom had gone broke. She could not seek recompense and she did not have the wherewithal to have—[ 
Interruption 
]. Of course Mr Prebble would not give a rat’s about her he would only give a rat’s about people in his position who could afford to chase those people down. My constituent could not do so. She did not have the wherewithal to chase those people down and even if she did she was unlikely to get recompense from them. Mr Prebble may be a great proponent of market forces but they did not help that person. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I shall pick up where I left off before the dinner break. We were speaking to Part 4 and schedule 3. It was raised by a number of members opposite and I was referring to Mr Prebble that market forces would somehow fix the great evils in the building industry. Members mentioned the great man Norman Kirk who built his house in the town of Kaiapoi and I referred to a constituent of mine who had been done over by builders and who asked me what she could do. She had a leaky home she said that the builders and “subbies” had done a shoddy job and asked what would be her recourse. The truth was that she had no recourse. If she were Mr Mapp he being one of the landed gentry with the means to pursue a builder then maybe she would have some recourse. But this person did not have the means to pursue those responsible. I invite Mr Prebble being the great constituency member of course that he is— 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I was. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Was past tense and the people dealt to him. I say to members opposite to be honest about it and I ask Mr Prebble what he has nailed recently. I do not think he has nailed a nail into a piece of wood recently. [ 
Interruption 
] I will not make that comment. 
Let us be honest about it and say that market forces will not fix the evils in the building industry. For the life of me I cannot understand why Mr Ardern is opposed to licensed certifiers checking work. In a couple of speeches on this bill some time ago I said that the greatest asset a Kiwi has is his or her house. In many cases Kiwis put their life-savings into a house and in the case of Mr Mapp and Mr Prebble they probably put in half a percent of their life-savings. This bill seeks to have a certified licensed practitioner check whether a building is up to grade so one has a bit of insurance. Mr Connell talked about the Aussie insurance scheme. I tell him that in this country we do not insure for mediocrity. We know that Don Brash Mr Power Mr Key and a few others are insured for mediocrity but we on this side do not believe that we should insure for mediocrity. 
This bill goes back to having registered trades people doing good standardised work not the sort of shonky scene the National Government presided over. When members such as Mr Prebble try to say that somehow market forces will fix the problem that is probably true for some who have the means to pursue some of the sharks but for the average Kiwi market forces will not do the job. My constituent looked around and asked what the State would do or what someone would do to protect her so that she could either pursue those people or more important ensure that this sort of shonky workmanship does not happen. 
I note that the deputy leader of the National Party in theory is a trades person. He is a woodwork teacher from my college St Bedes. I ask tonight what he has nailed recently. Has he recently hammered a nail into a piece of wood? I am sure that although that member has not taken a call he would probably agree with the Government and say that we need standards. To pay some tribute to him he is a trades person. He has done his time in a few places and got his trade ticket. He would not want shonky individuals in his industry. I invite Mr Brownlee to take a call to express those views. I tell members opposite that this legislation is about securing the homes of average Kiwis—their castle—and as I said I cannot understand why Mr Ardern would oppose building certifiers.