Heatley Phil: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Remedies) Amendment Bill — Recommittal In Committee 
Heatley Phil: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Remedies) Amendment Bill — Recommittal In Committee 
[Volume:641;Page:10965] 
PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) 
: 
 This very interesting statistic might come as a surprise to you Mr Chairperson and it might come as a surprise to the Minister for Building and Construction and to colleagues in the Chamber. District councils and city councils across the country issue about 80000 building consents a year and they have done so for many years now—in fact for decades. They are quite able to do that and have the experience in it. It is a surprise to us given that fact that this particular Minister and Government have suddenly decided that councils after 50 to 100 years of issuing consents have to be accredited to undertake that very task. 
I do not know why they are being regulated in that area. They are not regulated in a whole lot of other areas in which they have functions. Clearly that particular function of issuing consents is underpinned by legislation and regulations just like all their other functions. Why councils have to be accredited is beyond us. Furthermore the fact that they have to be accredited or from 30 November this year they cannot carry out the function of issuing consents which they have done for decades is absolutely absurd. It means that although right through the 1920s the 1930s the 1940s the 1950s the 1960s when I and the member for Napier were born the 1970s the 1980s and the 1990s district councils were issuing a maximum of 80000 consents a year from this November for some reason they have to be accredited to do so. 
For all those decades those councils got it wrong! Now the Minister is saying that from this November they have to be accredited to issue consents. If this Minister’s legislation does not pass from 30 November this year councils will not be able to issue consents. The fact that councils have issued tens of thousands of consents for decades is all going to come to a grinding halt this November if the Minister’s legislation does not pass. I ask the Minister how well-thought-out that is. Why cannot we have a proper select committee process? There is plenty of time between August and November for this legislation to go before the select committee and for us to re-examine the Minister’s supposed need for councils to be accredited to do a task that they have done for nigh on a century. 
This threat—of councils not being able to carry out the task if they are not accredited—is also absolutely absurd given that the Minister is now shifting the goalposts in terms of the time frame. Has the Minister realised that to do this was always a flawed policy position? It makes it look like the Minister is doing something about leaky homes but really all he is doing is heaping compliance costs on councils. 
In fact if any member of this Parliament regardless from which party genuinely sat down with a mayor anywhere in this country that mayor would say yes the council is putting up rates and the reason it is putting up rates is that central government keeps sending it things to do. Central government keeps sending councils things to do whether it is dog chipping managing brothels or getting accredited to issue consents which they have done for nigh on a century. Why does this Government keep heaping on councils things to do which they eventually have to bill ratepayers for? Even Labour-voting mayors although they are becoming thin on the ground across the country will say that they are tired of the regulatory creep coming from central government. This is just another example of that.