Guy Nathan: Building Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
Guy Nathan: Building Amendment Bill (No 2) — Third Reading 
[Volume:655;Page:5131] 
Hon NATHAN GUY (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
on behalf of the  
Minister for Building and Construction 
. I move  
That the Building Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a third time 
. I am pleased to begin the bill’s final progress through the House this evening on behalf of the Minister. This bill refines and streamlines the building consent process and reduces compliance and transaction costs for a group of home builders developers and councils with flow-on effects for homeowners and that is vitally important. 
I make three introductory remarks about the specifics of this bill. First it introduces national multiple-use approvals that will fast track the building consent process for house designs that are used repeatedly by group home builders. Secondly it defines a new streamlined process for managing minor variations to building plans after a building consent has been issued. That will save time for building consent applicants and indeed for local authorities. Thirdly the bill makes voluntary the requirement to obtain a project information memorandum commonly called a PIM which reduces time and costs for building consent applicants. 
The bill provides for regulations to be made that will provide the operational detail needed to get the initiatives up and running. The Government is committed to rapidly progressing these regulations so that the initiatives can come into force as soon as possible and the sector can begin to benefit from that. 
This bill is the first step in the reform of the Building Act 2004. Led by the Minister the Hon Maurice Williamson this Government is undertaking a wider review of the Building Act with a view to reducing compliance requirements and costs but without compromising building quality. That is an important point. Broadly we would like to achieve several things as a result. The first is to further refine the building consent process by looking at what really needs to be consented based on risk if at all. The second achievement is to facilitate greater use of technology by councils and building consent applicants such as having an online national consenting system to reduce costs and get consistency across the country. The third one is to lift performance and skill levels across the sector through builder licensing. 
A couple of other points I wish to make is that the reforms that we are looking to make in the future will provide better information on the building code and more examples of how to achieve or meet performance standards. Also they will help consumers make informed decisions about building their homes and choosing the products they need. The final point is to consider how the liability and risk in the building sector is shared. That is an important point. 
 The bill before us tonight the Building Amendment Bill (No 2) makes a pragmatic start to the reform of regulation in the building and construction sector. I acknowledge the work of the Local Government and Environment Committee ably led by its chair Chris Auchinvole. I also acknowledge the select committee staff the Department of Building and Housing officials and the Parliamentary Counsel Office drafters who have worked on this important bill. I commend this bill to the House.