Wagner Nicky: Building Amendment Bill (No 3) — Third Reading 
Wagner Nicky: Building Amendment Bill (No 3) — Third Reading 
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NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central) 
: 
 I rise to support the Building Amendment Bill (No 3) at its third reading. As has been discussed in the House previously this bill is part of a larger suite of legislation for the building industry. The Building Amendment Bill (No 4) is ready to have its first reading in Parliament very soon. 
If you think about the construction sector it is a very important part of our industry. It employs over 170000 people which is about one in 12 New Zealanders. If you think of the future in Christchurch with a $20 billion to $30 billion rebuild in the next decade or so this number can only increase. 
The development of this bill has been a long time coming. Originally work was undertaken by the Labour Government and the new Minister Maurice Williamson and his department have consulted widely. They have talked to everybody in the industry—everybody from the Registered Master Builders Federation the Certified Builders Association the Building Industry Federation the Construction Industry Council and even retailers like PlaceMakers Mitre 10 and Bunnings have had their say. There is a high degree of support for these changes. Even in the Local Government and Environment Committee we continued that process and we managed to iron out some of the finer details at the time. 
I think this bill is both important and necessary. It is absolutely true that our building industry needs to improve. In comparison with what the previous speaker Raymond Huo was speaking about I think this is just the right time—when there is a lot of work to do to repair leaky homes and a huge amount of work to be done in Christchurch. There is a real issue about accessibility and affordability of homes in New Zealand. The demands for the new homes in Christchurch after the earthquakes mean that we must reform our building legislation. We must cut red tape we must cut bureaucracy and at the same time we must increase productivity and improve the quality of all our buildings. This bill is part of the Government’s Better Building Blueprint and that is our plan for a better future for New Zealanders by making it easier and cheaper to build good quality homes and buildings. 
Just to recap the four major points of this legislation the first is to give clearer accountability for building practitioners building consent authorities and the consumer to make sure that the work complies with the building code. By making each contributor individually responsible for meeting those building code standards there is an inherent quality-checking system that will improve the quality of work. 
Secondly the bill creates a new building consent system that is risk based. That means that the amount of checking and inspection is related to the risk and the complexity of the work and the skills and the capability of the people doing the work. It is just a common-sense approach that recognises that not all buildings are equal. There is an enormous difference between the amount of skill and the amount of monitoring required on a simple domestic structure in comparison with a multilevel commercial building. The new consent process will tailor the monitoring and inspecting to the requirements of the project. We need enough monitoring and inspections to ensure good quality buildings without excessive demands that deliver no value and just waste time and money. 
Thirdly the bill introduces a code of ethics for licensed building practitioners to encourage professional behaviour. The construction industry is so important to our economy that it is right to expect a high standard of professionalism and that this legislation has disciplinary teeth. The public want and need to be able to respect and trust building practitioners. 
Finally to respect the great Kiwi tradition of DIY there is an owner-builder do-it-yourself exemption from restricted building work rules. It is the Kiwi way to be able to work on your house and add value to your property. However the exemption is carefully structured to avoid it being used as a back-door way for unlicensed practitioners to obtain work. 
This bill addresses the need for increased productivity better quality and more cost-effective building in New Zealand. I believe that all members in the House support the need for a building sector that is more productive and more effective and that all members understand the urgent need for New Zealand to have a building sector that can deliver good quality and affordability for their homes and buildings. Labour has voiced its general support for risk-based consenting but has raised the issue of the need for a more comprehensive bill. But on this side of the House because this is a part of a comprehensive suite of legislation that is on the way and because we believe that we need to make progress now we support this as a good first step in the right direction. I commend the bill to the House.