Upston Louise: Building Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
Upston Louise: Building Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:5138] 
LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupo) 
: 
 I am delighted to stand to take a call in support of the third reading of the Building Amendment Bill (No 2). I think that having unanimous support for a bill around the Chamber is a really nice way to finish a parliamentary week. It is important to acknowledge that members of the previous Government have recognised that perhaps some of the regulations around building had gone a bit too far. They have become a barrier in terms of affordable housing and have added layers of bureaucracy that are not ideal. The National Government has picked up this bill put some urgency around it and focused on some areas where we know that we can get some quick wins that will have an impact in terms of housing becoming more affordable. 
I will recap on the three main initiatives of the bill. The first is around the national multiple-use approvals. The building consent process for the 40 percent of houses that are currently built in New Zealand by group building companies will be far more streamlined. Their designs are replicated on a substantial scale so less work will be involved for 40 percent of the houses built in New Zealand. 
The second area is around the streamlined process for making minor variations to building plans after a building consent is issued. These are minor changes in building plans. They are not significant and the process of making them in the plans was too complex. 
The third main initiative which is the final part is to make voluntary the requirement to obtain a project information memorandum or PIM. Again this initiative reduces time and costs for building consent applications. 
It was very pleasing to see that as well as these changes receiving support from around the House there was strong support for them from the industry. Good targeted consultation was undertaken during this process and I am sure that has made the process and the submissions far more encouraging and supportive. The 17 submissions that came in were encouraging in terms of supporting both the changes that are specifically recommended in this bill and the wider reform of building legislation. A review was started in March of this year to further refine the building consent process to lift performance and skills through builder licensing and to increase the use of technology by councils. 
I was working for one of the councils when the Building Act amendments came in. It was an interesting process seeing how councils came to grips with a very difficult and complex process. They will be extremely relieved about the changes that will come in not only now with this bill but also with the wider building reforms. Those reforms will improve the use of technology for councils and will provide more information and education for consumers so that they can have better access to what is going on with their building consent. 
The review will also look at responsibility liability and risk. As we know from the leaky homes issue which was a major issue when the initial changes came in there was a concern that the solution to that problem went too far. We need to make sure that we continue to look at that issue in terms of managing the risk and deciding where the risk should sit. 
It is really encouraging to see that everyone in this House is supporting this particular bill in order to make sure that housing is more affordable for hard-working New Zealanders. I am sure that New Zealanders out there will see that it is great to have a Parliament that can work together and great that all members can agree on something that it is so important to this society. It is the dream of New Zealanders to own their home and we will give it to them. 
Debate interrupted.