Smith Nick: Legislation (Incorporation by Reference) Bill — First Reading 
Smith Nick: Legislation (Incorporation by Reference) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:624;Page:19341] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 What a disgraceful stuff-up we have in one of New Zealand’s most important industries. The building industry represents $18 billion of economic activity per year and this Government’s track record on building law is simply appalling. What the Minister has said in the House today is that when the Government rushed through the Building Act last year it stuffed it up. It made a mess that has compromised New Zealand’s intellectual copyright to its building standards so we have to rush a bill through the House in 12 days in order to fix that. That is what he should have said. He should have apologised to the House to the building industry and to the people whose intellectual property this Government’s botched law has compromised. 
It is interesting to note that when I asked the Parliamentary Library who has been the Minister in charge of building law under this Government it contacted the Building Industry Authority. Do members know the response I received from the library? The authority was not sure who the Ministers responsible for the building industry have been for the last 5½ years. Can members believe that? The authority does not know who has been the Minister in charge of an $18 billion per year industry. We know that Mark Burton George Hawkins and Lianne Dalziel were responsible for a while. We know that Steve Maharey was the responsible Minister for a while. We also know that Margaret Wilson was the Minister for a while. We know that John Tamihere was the Minister too and we know that it is Chris Carter now. But are any of those Ministers in the House today to speak on the bill? No Paul Swain is doing that. It is little wonder that we have this sort of chaos within the building industry when that is the sort of game of pass the parcel that this Labour Cabinet plays in its approach to building issues. 
Let us just recite this Government’s record in this important area of law. We know the history of the botch-up with George Hawkins. People were writing to George Hawkins stating that there was a huge problem with leaky homes and he did not get the letter. 
Brian Connell 
: He didn’t get the letter? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: Well he replied that he had not read the letter and nor it seems did he respond to the issue. Let us remind ourselves of how serious that botch-up was. I know of families whose homes were built after the Minister and this Government were told of the problems and who are now bankrupt because of the Government’s failing. That is the human toll of this Government’s mess in the area of building law. But it goes on and on. I am disappointed that the Government has not fronted up with regard to all the other problems in the new building law that will come into effect in 13 days’ time. This bill is just the tip of the iceberg. The industry is in chaos. Yesterday I visited the Auckland City Council and met with its building consent department. Those people are pulling their hair out with frustration because of this Government’s incompetence in the area of building law. 
We need only to talk to the families that are dealing with the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service to know the sort of botch-up we have in this area of law. The Government promised that the resolution service would offer a speedy resolution of the problems experienced by the owners of homes that were leaky rotten affecting people’s health and driving people to emotional torment. How fast has it been? Of the 2800 claims before the resolution service do members know how many have gone to adjudication? Fourteen. Do members know that eight times as many claims are being lodged per month than are being settled? Eight times as many claims are being lodged each month than are being resolved. That is a disgrace and thousands of New Zealand families are at the end of their tether because of the mess the Government has made in this area of the law. 
Then there are problems for the building industry itself. There are requirements in the Building Act that are in contradiction with contracts. So the poor builders have the choice of either breaking the law or breaking a contract. That is the dilemma that this Government has created for the thousands of people who work in the building industry. Homeowners are also caught. The Waitakere City Council one of the great friends of the Labour Party has put out a news release today stating that there is no way it can process the number of consents applied for as there is mad chaos as we approach 31 March. 
This is a disgraceful bill. Let us recall what the Minister said. He said he would move that this bill be reported back by the Government Administration Committee not in 6 months which our Standing Orders require but in 12 days. That is what the Minister said. 
Simon Power 
: That’s exactly what he said. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: That is exactly what he said. I say to the Government that it is no wonder it keeps screwing things up and getting things wrong. How can we possibly scrutinise this legislation and make sure that in these pages of law there is not yet another stuff-up when the Government will give the select committee only 12 days to fix it? 
I say to the Minister that we knew about this problem 3 months ago. It was in the Aussie newspapers. The Australians were able to pull down intellectual property information from the Internet and print it for nix. The Government knew about that 3 months ago and 12 days before the new building law comes into effect it puts forward a sneaky little bill just before a recess to try to cover up its incompetence. That is not good enough. Where is the Minister? Chris Carter has been in charge of this area for the last 4 months. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: Oh no! 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: That gives Ken Shirley great confidence that all will be hunky-dory! But where is Chris Carter in this debate—and why has nothing been done for 3 months? 
Hon David Carter 
: It’s in the name of Pete Hodgson. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: My colleague David Carter points out that this legislation is in the name of Pete Hodgson. Let us hang on a sec! According to the ministerial list that I have here the Minister for Building Issues is Chris Carter. I know we have had eight Ministers in charge of building in the course of the 6 years of this Labour Government. Do we now have a ninth? What is going on? 
Finally I say to the Government that it is absolutely inevitable that the Department of Building and Housing will be breaking the law on 1 April. What sort of Mickey Mouse Government do we have? It knew 3 months ago that there was a problem in the legislation and 12 days before it comes into effect it has sneaked in a bill to try to fix it—a bill that because of the way it is drafted will give the Department of Building and Housing no choice on 1 April but to break the law. That is how much respect for the law this Government has. It says people should do as it says not as it does. Why is it OK for the Labour Government to break the law when everybody else in New Zealand has to follow it? The scandal that is breaking out in the building industry through this Government’s incompetence will be one of the reasons why New Zealand will reject Labour at the election later this year. This bill is about the Government’s rushed legislation being wrong and having to be patched up in a way that is quite unsatisfactory and will involve the Crown breaking the law. It is just further evidence that this Government has absolutely no competence to deal with New Zealanders’ most important assets: their homes.