Salesa JennyBUILDING AMENDMENT BILLThird ReadingDebate resumed from 11 June.Hon JENNY SALESA (Minister for Building and Construction): Assalam o alaikum. Thank you so much Madam Deputy Speaker. It's a pleasure to complete my third reading on the Building Amendment Bill. It amends the Building Act 2004 so that we can take the steps we need to safeguard people in our buildings. Safety is a paramount concern of the Building Act and it must be at the centre whenever we think about buildings. This also includes threats to the social and economic welfare of New Zealand because when buildings fail they harm lives and people's livelihoods. When we think about wellbeing we need to think about all the ways and the risks that surround building failure and the following disruption that can hurt people. The changes I'm seeking to the Building Act are common-sense changes. The legislation builds on our experiences with Christchurch as well as Kaikōura and on the many other times buildings were tested to the limit and failed. It fills the gaps in the existing framework for managing buildings in two specific ways. Firstly it gives the front-line emergency responders the tools and powers they need to react quickly and effectively. Secondly it ensures that we can be even better at learning from building failure. This has required considerable thinking and rethinking about how we approach buildings and where the expertise and the responsibilities really sit. In the last year alone we tackled the thorny issues by sitting down with people who represent the many different sides of the response to buildings when they fail and talking through the challenges that we all face and the role of central government. We tackled issues such as: first the interplay of these new provisions with the existing civil defence and emergency management framework; second ensuring that our people using these powers on the ground are immune from civil proceedings and are not unfairly punished when acting in good faith; and third the careful balance between acting quickly and decisively to protect public safety and maintaining a healthy respect for the rights of building owners. This thorough and inclusive approach to legislating has paid off with a sensible bill that I have every confidence will make a real difference. The first change to the Building Act is in the space of managing buildings after an emergency event and this bill introduces an end-to-end process from response right through to recovery. It ensures a smooth transition between states of emergency and transition periods for the ongoing management of buildings as well as addressing problems with how well the current Building Act powers can be used to manage buildings damaged following an emergency. The proposed provisions that improve how we manage these buildings after an emergency include the following: the ability for the Minister for Building and Construction to take direct action and make decisions to manage buildings in a significant emergency event; second new powers for responsible persons to manage buildings during and after an emergency event including inspecting and requiring works to be carried out; third clarifications on the use and timings of powers which reflect the extended time frames required to manage buildings; fourth particular requirements around the decision to carry out works on important heritage buildings; and fifth a framework for specifically recognising personal and property rights including criteria that governs consultation and the use of these powers. The second change in this bill is in the space of improving how we can learn from buildings that fail. The bill provides the central building regulator which is the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) with a clear set of legislative powers to investigate significant building failures that did or could have resulted in serious injury or death. This will mean we can determine why they failed. This will enable MBIE either on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister for Building and Construction to investigate the circumstances and causes of building failure including securing the site to be investigated entering a property carrying out inspections requiring information sharing relevant information related to the building failure with regulatory bodies and publishing reports and findings. In closing I commend this bill to the House.