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Subcontractors owed money are to get better protection for payment for work done in changes to the Construction Contracts Act approved by Government, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

My thanks to BECA and IPENZ for the organising of this event, and the opportunity as Minister for Building and Construction to update progress on the implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations, and to announce significant proposed changes to the regulation of professional engineering in New Zealand.

The timing is appropriate as it is the fourth anniversary today of the first of the series of earthquakes to hit this city.

The regulation of engineers is to be strengthened to ensure they have the right knowledge, skills and competence to design safe buildings and to hold them more accountable for substandard work, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

“We need to improve the occupational regulation of engineers involved in the design and construction of buildings and to increase the consequences for those found to be incompetent,” Dr Smith says.

The Government has announced a new initiative to develop better housing and urban environments as part of its programme of National Science Challenges.

Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities – Ko ngā wā kāinga hei whakamāhorahora was one of the areas identified by the National Science Challenges Panel in 2013 where science has the potential to significantly benefit New Zealand. This is the eleventh National Science Challenge to be announced by the Government.

The Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities Challenge will deliver:

Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith today announced two new appointments and five reappointments to the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.

“The Board has an important role in protecting the health and safety of New Zealanders by ensuring that plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers are competent and properly licensed,” Dr Smith says.

Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith has welcomed the Assessment Report from International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) today which shows the Christchurch City Council is making good progress towards regaining its accreditation as a Building Consent Authority (BCA).

Builders will be required to have written contracts, provide information on their relevant skills, experience and qualifications, and disclose their insurance and warranty cover from 1 January 2015 for residential building work valued at over $30,000, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today.

A new system for managing buildings in the event of earthquake or flooding disasters was launched by Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith at the Australasian Structural Engineering Conference in Auckland today.

"We need better systems, stronger guidance and improved preparation for managing building safety after a major disaster. We want to minimise risk to people's safety while also enabling communities and businesses to recover as quickly as possible," Dr Smith says.

Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith today released post-earthquake technical engineering guidance on the seismic design of residential retaining walls in Christchurch’s Port Hills.

“This new technical guidance is critical to supporting the rebuild. It will help ensure retaining walls are built to a high standard and will assist in resolving what is required to repair properties and houses,” Dr Smith says.

Farm buildings are to be exempt from the requirements for assessments under the Government’s earthquake-prone buildings policy, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy announced today.

“The Government is not satisfied that the risks posed by farm buildings justify the cost of every building being assessed. These buildings have a low occupancy rate and there is no record of a fatality caused by a farm building collapsing in an earthquake,” Dr Smith says.

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Building (Earthquake-prone buildings) Amendment Bill today.

“This Bill will ensure earthquake-prone buildings are dealt with in a timely manner by way of a nationally consistent system and will require information about earthquake-prone buildings to be made available to the public.

“It strikes a balance between protecting people from harm in an earthquake and managing the costs of strengthening or removing such buildings.

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson today announced the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand has agreed to review the adequacy of engineering design work done for four Christchurch buildings.

Following issues with Christchurch City Council’s consenting processes arising last year, engineers raised with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment concerns about the design and safety of seven buildings.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson today announced no safety problems have been found in a random audit of building consents issued by Christchurch City Council.

International Accreditation New Zealand revoked the council’s building consent accreditation in July 2013 following its inability to bring its processes up to the required standard.