Building owners may have spent millions meeting earthquake standards now deemed by the Government to be unnecessary, but the minister in charge has ruled out compensation for any existing work done.
Chris Penk, who is also Small Business and Manufacturing Minister, also responded to questions over perceived government inaction on spiking energy prices, which have been blamed for the shutdown of four pulp and paper mills over the past year.
Jack Tame, Chris Penk spar over Govt’s ‘underwhelming’ moves on power prices – Watch on TVNZ+
Speaking to Q+A this morning, the Building and Construction Minister was relaxed about the increased risks posed by the Government’s overhaul of the earthquake standards, saying there needed to be a focus on bringing about a more “balanced” approach.
Asked about the increased risks brought about by the new system, Penk responded: “We think it’ll be broadly similar,” arguing the existing standards were already not being met because work was proving “uneconomic or technically non-feasible” for some owners.
Approximately 55% of quake-prone buildings would be removed from the existing system. (Source: 1News)
Since the 2017 building scheme came into force, 1500 buildings have been remediated or demolished — with some potentially reinforced to standards now deemed unnecessary under the new rules.
When asked, Penk said compensation for those building owners had been ruled out and wasn’t part of his thinking around the new version of the scheme.
“No one should be disappointed at the outcome where they’ve spent money, and they’ve been able to; they’ve physically done the works that will result in a better, stronger building that will be important for tenancy purposes, for insurance purposes,” he said.
The Building and Construction Minister said he hadn’t “seriously contemplated” recommending to Cabinet colleagues any form of compensation.
“It seems to me that we’ve got to be wary about applying taxpayer funds broadly to the exercise of remediating or compensating for those who have remediated private buildings. Of course, then you get into a dangerous territory, in terms of managed retreats, if you think about flooding risk — imagine that in Auckland — and other places.”
He added: “I’ve heard one or two say, if only we’d known. But of course, that’s life, isn’t it?”
‘Please hang on’ – Minister to business over energy costs
Earlier this week, the Government revealed its moves to tackle unaffordable power prices and issues in the energy sector. But the moves announced were called out as “underwhelming” by the EMA and criticised by other business groups.
Responding to the criticism, Penk said the Government had pulled every lever “that’s reasonable and rational to be able to pull”.
The Manufacturing Minister acknowledged businesses were struggling with high energy prices, but said, “these are long-range issues and problems that have built up over decades, actually, so we’re not pretending we can solve it overnight.”
Asked about business group criticism describing the energy package this week as “underwhelming” and lacking “bold action”, Penk responded: “In the short term, there are things we can do to make their lives easier as businesses operating in New Zealand.
“We’ve got the conditions such that we can expect a really good second half of this year, and going into next year, the general improvement in the business environment is there.
“So please hang on; be resilient. We know that it’s been tough. We salute you and thank you for your hard work, but better times ahead.”
For the full interview, watch the video above
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
