Cosgrove Clayton: Building Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee 
Cosgrove Clayton: Building Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee 
[Volume:678;Page:825] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour) 
: 
 It is always I have got to say a pleasure following that member Jacqui Dean. Before I continue in the positive vein that my colleague and former Minister for Building and Construction Shane Jones led with can I just make a couple of comments about the member Jacqui Dean. That member’s policy which I am sure the Minister is aware of to solve the weathertightness problem was to ban—and this is in written form—hydrogen dioxide or H2O. That member’s claim to fame of course was to say things like: “We’re not borrowing to get the money; we’re just going to get it from overseas.” That is not actually relevant to the specifics of the Building Amendment Bill (No 3) but that shows you the level of intelligence we are dealing with over there. 
 Now to get to a person of substance in the Minister the Hon Maurice Williamson can I say this: the previous member made some comments about my stance about real estate agents and she is right. I believe as I think every member of the House believes that whatever occupation you are in you should stand by your work—OK? I think that when I was in the chair—and I think the member said there were 11 building and construction Ministers and counting; in fact I think the place is littered with the bodies and corpses of building and construction Ministers. Maurice Williamson said to me before that he thinks we should set up a parliamentary friendship group for ex - building and construction Ministers and I agree. We are a large alumni and a powerful lobby. But where this actually came from—and I do commend the Minister on the DIY issue—is that when I was in the chair— 
Jacqui Dean 
: Why did that member lose his seat? 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: If the tumbleweed over there would just taihoa when I was in the chair as Minister—and I commend the Minister for what he did— 
Jacqui Dean 
: Mr Nasty. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I am actually praising your Minister if you would just zip up. He has been waiting for weeks for me to say something nice about him. So the member should zip up and let me compliment the Minister. When I was in the chair—Mr Jones is right—when I was the Minister the officials at a very senior level I have to say took a view in my opinion that they wanted to cauterise all DIY work. But I took a view—and I am pleased that the Minister has found a way through it—that that was not going to happen. It was not going to happen and we threw out the anchors on it until there was a full and complete examination of this. We do support the tenure of this bill but we have had some comments about the piecemeal approach of it. Licensed building practitioners—that whole issue—stems back from a time when a certain Government abolished the Apprenticeship Act in 1995. 
Andrew Williams 
: What Government did that? 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: That was not a Labour Government it was a National Government. I think the Minister in the chair at the time is now the Speaker. But putting that aside apprenticeships went and then the building industry was deregulated. The difficulty there—and I agree with Shane Jones and I think the Minister does—is that it would be nice to get to a point like with electricians where you could self-certify. I suspect the history of that—and Mr Williamson might be able to assist me—was that self-certification with tight regulations around that and the sort of visuality of that was because if you put the wire in the wrong hole you could get seriously dead bluntly whereas I think that in respect of building it is highly unlikely that a residential house unless it is built to such a disreputable standard will cause a fatality in that respect. I think actually if you look at the history of it that is where it came from. But I will go a step further. I recall saying to officials that it would be nice if once the transition through licensed building practitioners is complete you could get back to a time where you do not as a young person man or woman get entry into those trades unless you do an old-fashioned thing called an apprenticeship where you are trade-trained. 
I understand because I was part of bringing it in that there had to be a transitional period. Actually the builder who built my house who was third generation no trade certificate won building awards all over New Zealand. I would not want to see that guy go back and have to do an apprenticeship. He has proved himself through his work. He is the sort of old-fashioned guy who if your hinges are squeaking 5 years later he will come around at no charge with the oil can. I would not want to see that person going through a tirade of bureaucracy to prove what he has already that he is a competent builder. But I would like to see a time when we could go back as we have transitioned through that where if you as a young person want to get into the building trade or any trade you have to do an apprenticeship and we go back and make that compulsory. I would say that. 
I think it was a mistake to do away with apprenticeships and the resources around it. It was a mistake historically—and we have all made them—to say that anybody could pick up a tool belt even Jacqui Dean and call themselves a builder whip around to your house and say “I can build your home.” and then as a previous speaker said disappear to Queensland when it all goes wrong. So the regime that I think everybody wants is to allow DIY to progress in an orderly fashion but to say to people: “Look if you are outside your skill limit”—as I would be bluntly; I would not attempt half the stuff I would just get the trades guys around and get them to do it—“you should get licensed building practitioners in to do it.” but not to cauterise DIY. 
Debate interrupted.