Coleman Jonathan: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeColeman Jonathan: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 09 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9581. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health) on behalf of theMinister for Building and Housing: I move That the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Bill be now read a third time. This bill amends the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act 2006 to make sure that the options available to homeowners under the Act and in particular the Financial Assistance Package keep operating effectively. In 2011 this Government amended the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Act to set up the Financial Assistance Package. This is an important part of the help that the Government has been providing to owners of leaky homes. Instead of money being spent on litigation the Financial Assistance Package focuses on getting on with the repair of leaky homes by offering funding from the Government towards the repair costs.As at 31 January 2016 there were 1198 claims representing 4177 homes that had been assessed as qualifying for the Government contribution of 25 percent towards the repair costs. The estimated future cost to the Government in the financial assistance contribution is estimated at about $105 million. That is expected to generate an estimated $420 million of repairs via this assistance package. As well as the Financial Assistance Package the Act provides other alternatives to court action such as mediation or adjudication by the Weathertight Homes Tribunal for eligible owners of leaky homes. All of these measures are aimed at providing alternative routes for homeowners in suitable cases to costly and lengthy court litigation. The bill does not change any of the substantial provisions of the Act. It simply refines some aspects of the Act to provide clarity to claimants and remove doubt and uncertainty. It does this by amending the Act in three important areas so that the options available to owners of leaky homes under the Act continue to operate validly and effectively.First the bill removes the possibility of a legal challenge to the validity of some criteria for the Financial Assistance Package for leaky homes. This risk concerns two of the contribution criteria that homeowners have to meet before they can be eligible for the Financial Assistance Package. The bill lifts those criteria out of a Gazette notice and places them into the Act. The bill does not change the wording or the meaning of the criteria in any way but puts the validity of the criteria beyond any doubt by relocating them into the Act and amending the Gazette notice accordingly.Second the bill addresses the consequences on a small group of claimants of the 2014 decision of the Supreme Court in Osborne v Auckland Council. In that decision the Supreme Court interpreted the term “built” differently to the way that it had been interpreted by the lower courts. The built date of a house is important because under the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services Amendment Act claimants must make their claim within 10 years of their house being built. The Supreme Court decision meant that approximately 70 claimants may have missed out because the old interpretation calculated the 10 years starting from the date that the physical construction of the house was actually completed. Under the Osborne decision the relevant date is the date that the code compliance certificate was issued which is usually later. The bill brings those approximately 70 affected claimants back into the system so long as they have not sold their house. The claimants will still need to meet the other eligibility requirements to be able to proceed.Finally the bill deals with claimants who are actively progressing claims through the Financial Assistance Package. The process to get approved for funding under the Financial Assistance Package involves a number of steps such as getting an assessment of the damage to the house and getting quotes for repairing the damage before a homeowner can formally issue a notice to proceed. The Financial Assistance Package is a time-bound measure that is due to end on 23 July 2016 and under the Act claimants would need to have issued a notice to proceed by that date. The bill provides that claimants who are actively progressing their claims will not be shut out of the Financial Assistance Package even if they have not quite reached the stage of issuing a notice to proceed by 23 July 2016.Taken together this package of three areas of change will ensure that the Financial Assistance Package will continue to be available to eligible claimants. I would like to conclude by thanking all members of the Local Government and Environment Committee for their careful consideration of the bill and the enhancements made to the bill during the select committee process. I would also like to thank the submitters who contributed to the development of the bill by providing their views to the committee. This bill is about providing more certainty and clarity to leaky home owners and making sure that no one is arbitrarily excluded from the remedies available under the Act. I commend this bill to the House.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Before I call a member I just want to draw the Minister’s attention and the attention of the Government whips to Speaker’s ruling 53/4 which involves the Review of Standing Orders: Report of the Standing Orders Committee as to the reading of speeches. There is normally a dispensation given to Ministers in the early stages of bills and especially where there are technical matters in bills. I realise the Minister is not the Minister in whose name the bill is but I think it is incumbent on the Government to have a Minister at least familiar enough with the material they are presenting to the House that they can make a speech without just reading it out. Otherwise it becomes a pro forma exercise and I think it does not show due respect to the House.Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Speaking to the point of order—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Well it was not really a point of order but the member might like to make one.