Smith Nick: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Smith Nick: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:633;Page:5069] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 The Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Bill is another sad chapter in the Government’s inept handling of the leaky home crisis. It comes as no surprise to me that Clayton Cosgrove’s previous occupation was that of a spin doctor. Today he has tried to paper over huge gaps in his Government’s policies and his Government’s neglect of the whole problem that affects thousands and thousands of New Zealanders. 
Let us go back to when this issue first arose. In 2001 building experts wrote to George Hawkins and said there was a very serious problem with leaky homes. And what did George Hawkins do? Well after receiving that letter from the building industry he wrote back but then denied he had ever received it—and he did absolutely nothing. And then there was Helen Clark. In November 2002 Helen Clark had this to say about the leaky homes issue. She said she was sick of the  
New Zealand Herald  
banging on about issues that had no substance. That was what the Prime Minister said about the plight of thousands of decent New Zealanders who were living in rotting substandard homes—and the Government did nothing. 
But when it became a public relations problem for the Government in a mad rush it created the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. Did the Government send the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Bill to a select committee? No it did not. We had the fastest legislation in the West with a Supplementary Order Paper tabled in this Parliament and passed only a few weeks later. Are any of us now surprised that it has been an absolute flop and a disaster? No we are not. The service was never about helping homeowners; it was all about damage control for the Prime Minister and the Government. 
Let us listen to what the Government said in 2002 when the legislation was passed and the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service was set up. Clayton your ministerial colleague said— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member is to use the full name. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: I say to the Minister that the Government then said it would take only 2 years to fix the problem. That was in 2002 4 years ago. But the Minister said in the House today that it will now take until 2021 to fix the problem. What an indictment that is on the Government. 
We can look at the record of Labour’s Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. This Government has spent $52 million on the bureaucracy of that service but do members know what proportion of claims has been resolved after 4 years and $52 million? It is just 10 percent—just 10 percent of those poor homeowners have had a solution. Labour’s Weathertight Homes Resolution Service is a sick horrible joke on those homeowners caught up in that nightmare. Let us have a look at the rate of settlement. Far from taking 2 years to settle claims as the Minister said it would when the service was established do members know how long it will take at the current rate of settlement? It will take 75 years. There will not be a member of this House alive then if the agency continues at its current rate. 
Let us look at the cost. Each leaky home case that is being resolved is costing $92000. But that $92000 is not being spent on a single dwang or a single hour of a builder’s time; that $92000 is being spent per home on bureaucracy—on reports lawyers and arguments. Do members know what the average settlement is? The average settlement is only $70000. It would have been better to send the cheques directly to homeowners than to have wasted $52 million on Labour’s failed Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. 
Let us find out how some of that money was spent. Last year I drew attention to the fact that the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service had got into party mode. What was it celebrating? It had a  
Sound of Music 
 theme party. It had an aeroplanes party. It even had—can we believe it—a “Cowboys and Indians” party. 
Bob Clarkson 
: But they are cowboys. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: Well my colleague “Bob the Builder” says they are in fact cowboys. It is disgraceful that poor New Zealanders are living in rotting homes and going broke and the people in the Government agency are spending tens of thousands of dollars on parties rather than on helping them. 
Then to really get a feel for how sick the culture of this Government is I tell members that the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service went to the flashest hotel in Auckland—the Stamford Plaza—and had a Pacific Islands awareness training day. That is right; it flew all its staff up from Wellington for a day of drinking kava and having dancing girls rather than fix people’s leaky homes. Have we ever heard of anything so ridiculous? Is there any proof that our Weathertight Homes Resolution Service staff need politically correct training on Pacific Island culture for goodness’ sake? Is there any evidence I ask Winnie Laban that more leaky homes are amongst the Pacific Island community than amongst others? Of course there is not. It was just mad Government political correctness. 
Let us look at the portfolio. Mr Clayton Cosgrove is the seventh Minister for Building Issues. The portfolio has been handed around within the Government like a hot potato. We have had Mark Burton George Hawkins Lianne Dalziel Margaret Wilson John Tamihere Chris Carter and now we have Clayton Cosgrove. I ask that member opposite what his track record is since he has held the portfolio. When asked Clayton Cosgrove says we will get some real action. Well let us look at the record. Since Mr Clayton Cosgrove has been Minister for Building Issues 200 claims have been resolved but 584 new claims have been lodged. Mr Cosgrove is going backwards. 
Then we come to the solutions in this bill. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: This will be interesting. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: This is good. We are going to help the leaky home owners because no longer will we have the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. We will change its name. We will have the Weathertight Homes Tribunal. That will help those thousands of leaky home owners will it not? They will be delighted to know there is a name change! 
This bill is effectively too little too late. We will change the Government department that is responsible for the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. It started off with the Department of Internal Affairs but the department passed it on like a hot potato to the Department of Building and Housing. Now it will be passed on to another Government department the Ministry of Justice. I am left wondering how that will help leaky home owners. Then I look at the disgrace of the Government’s spending $5 million on lawyers fighting leaky home owners rather than helping them. 
This bill is too little too late. The whole episode of leaky homes under this Government has been a disgrace. Those leaky home owners deserve far better.