Local Government New Zealand Rural / Provincial Sectors' Meeting

Speech notes

Hon Maurice Williamson

Minister for Building and Construction

Local Government New Zealand Rural / Provincial Sectors' Meeting

Brentwood Hotel, Kilbirnie, Wellington

Thursday, 19 November, 2009

Acknowledgements

Mayors

Councillors

Chief Executives

Introduction

Hello everyone, thank you for having me along to speak to you today.

I want to talk today about the Government's priorities for the building and construction sector, and about a few of the issues that will be on the minds of you and your building controls staff.

Your expertise and your contribution is key.

The Government has a programme of work underway to improve the business of construction in New Zealand and set us on our way to economic recovery.   We are committed to getting rid of regulation and bureaucracy  that is adding cost and little value.  We want to lift the productivity of the construction sector, and I am confident that the work of the Government is setting a course for a better industry.

Building Act Review

There are several key outcomes I would like to see from the Building Act Review, which is well underway.

One is streamlining building consent requirements. We have a consenting system that is adding time and cost to building work, and I hear frequently about the frustrations of builders and consumers being bound up in red tape.

This has to change.  I want to move away from the current ‘one size fits all' consenting and inspection process.  The process needs to reflect the complexity of the building work and the competence of the designer and builder.   For relatively low risk homes designed and built by competent practitioners, it should be cheaper and faster to get a consent, with fewer inspections by councils.  

In addition, low risk building work should be exempted from needing a consent in the first place.   There are exemptions in place now, but they don't go wide enough.

I also want to see better allocation of risk and liability in the sector. The issues around weathertightness may be less complex if risk was more evenly spread, and more transparent.

Too often the buck stops with the councils, which means disputes are less readily resolved, with one party trying to make it right all by themselves.  I want to see a re-balancing of risk, so that it lies with those best able to manage it, so that all parties face reasonable risk and liability, and have options for managing these risks.

In line with this, I also want to see more and better information out there for consumers, as well as more cost-effective and quicker ways of resolving disputes earlier.

There needs to be greater incentives for professional performance - I want consumers demanding skilled practitioners, with the level of building control linked to skill levels.

The review will also examine how we can rationalise building consent functions.  We currently have 73 building consent authorities.  To me, that is too many.  The building consent authority accreditation process has made the costs of undertaking these functions very transparent, and I think that it is unlikely that all building consent authorities will be able to sustain these costs going forward. 

The move to one council (and one building consent authority) in Auckland is a good start, and I am encouraged that the Wellington councils are looking at options for adopting a more regional approach to delivering building consenting and inspection services.  I hope that groups of councils throughout the rest of the country are asking the same questions.

Lastly, there needs to be more investment in technology to allow many of these systems - building consents especially so - to run more smoothly.  For example, I am keen to see a national on-line consenting system developed and in place.  This would not only allow applicants to lodge consent applications on-line but also lead to faster, cheaper and more consistent consent decisions.  On this basis, I have asked my Department to work closely with the likes of Local Government NZ on how such a system could be developed and rolled out.

I don't necessarily see this as being an expensive exercise if we do it properly.  I know the Auckland Transition Agency is looking at having an on-line consenting system in place for the new Auckland building consent authority when it starts up in a year's time.  This should give us a platform for looking at what a nation-wide system could look like, and leverage off the investment made in Auckland.

In summary, the Building Act Review will identify reforms that will reduce costs, but not the quality of the building control system.

It would be easy to deregulate too heavily, but that is not the aim here. Rather, the Government is committed to using regulation only where non-regulatory options are unavailable.

In doing so, we will strike a balance between common sense building regulation and a safe, reliable building control system.

Subject to Cabinet approval, the Department of Building and Housing will be looking to undertake sector-wide consultation in early 2010, following extensive work with industry, consumer and local government representatives.

We would be looking for legislative change by the end of next year.

Much of this work follows on from law changes earlier this year.   There were three key changes in particular, that aim to speed up building consent processes and reduce costs.

National Multiple-use Approvals have been introduced to reduce duplication and fast track the consent process for group home builders, who are using the same or similar designs across the country.

It will be council's role to check against site conditions and foundations, and utilities to each building, such as water and power.   There will also need to checks to ensure that any conditions specific to the Approval have been met, and that the building complies with its National Multiple-Use Approval.

The time needed for the local inspection should be significantly reduced, as a result of the new process.

A new streamlined process for managing variations to building plans after a consent is issued has also been introduced. This will save time for councils and building consent applicants.

Lastly, Project Information Memoranda have been made voluntary as a means of reducing time and cost.

These changes, which come into force on 31 January 2010,  have got the ball rolling, but are not enough on their own. The Building Act Review will go much further in making building regulation more effective and efficient. 

Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme

Key to moving to delivering a balanced building control system that reduces cost but not quality, is the licensed building practitioner scheme.

In August, the Government confirmed its support for the scheme.  We did this because it

• Promotes enhanced practitioner performance
• Makes practitioners accountable for the quality of their work, and
• Provides consumers with access to information to help them make an informed decision about who they engage to do their building work.

There are however, opportunities for the scheme to be streamlined and simplified, so with less complexity and cost to applicants.   Drawn out application processes and having qualified builders bound up in red tape isn't helping anyone.  I want to see changes to the scheme along these lines in place early next year.

At the same as I announced our support for the scheme, I also announced what type of building work would be defined in law as being ‘restricted building work'.  This is work that is so important to the integrity of a building that it needs to be carried out or supervised by a licensed building practitioner.  This will apply from 1 March 2012.

Restricted building work on stand alone houses and small- to medium-sized apartments will apply to the design and construction of:

• foundations and framing - so the building can meet its vertical and horizontal loads under the Building Code, and
• roofing and cladding - so it's weathertight.

Restricted building work will also apply to the design of active fire-safety systems, such as sprinklers, in apartments.

Only allowing licensed builders to undertake this work - builders who have a proven track record and are accountable - will improve New Zealand's future building stock, and mitigate risk around issues such as weathertightness.

Quite naturally, initial concern about restricted building work was that it would have an effect on New Zealand's great DIY spirit.  The Government is therefore proposing an owner/builder exemption that addresses these concerns and ensures that enthusiasts can still do what they love, without worrying about government red tape.

And of course, any work that doesn't require a building consent under Schedule 1 of the Building Code is exempt too.

Between the Building Act Review and the LBP scheme, I feel we are making tremendous progress in having smart regulation of builders and designers, which protects consumers.

Product Certification

Back to the Building Act Review for a second, I would like to touch on product certification.

I recognise the need for a transparent product assurance framework that drives more consistent product approval decisions by local authorities.

There needs to be a simpler and more consistent way to achieve approval for building products.

Currently, we do have a voluntary product certification scheme, which is aimed at restoring confidence in the materials we use and at speeding up the consent process. The benefits of such a scheme are clear to me, and I support the principles behind it.

However, what we have now is too heavily focused on high risk or new products. On its own, it doesn't address all of the concerns around achieving product approval.

The current scheme is being looked at as part of the Building Act Review, so I hope to have more information on this shortly.

Closing remarks

Today I have described some of the measures the Government is taking to streamline and realign building related regulation and address areas where there sector, as well as councils such as yours, are overly bureaucratic and complex.

Together we can make a real difference to lifting the performance of a sector that touches the lives of every New Zealander.

If we get it right, more Kiwis can live and work in high-quality homes and buildings, purchased at a price they can afford.

I'd like to thank everyone for listening today, and hope I have already answered some of your the questions.

For those of you who have queries, I'm happy to take those now.