Latest / Best of Business / Chris Penk: Building and Construction Minister on the Government's overhaul impacting quake-prone buildings

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Chris Penk: Building and Construction Minister on the Government's overhaul impacting quake-prone buildings · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from news Talk zed be
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: And the government has announced a major overhaul of our
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  Speaker 2: earthquake building rules. From now only concrete buildings three stories
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  Speaker 2: or higher althose constructed with unreinforced masonry, brick walls and
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  Speaker 2: the like will be included in that system. Auckland, Northland
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  Speaker 2: and the Chattham Islands will be completely exempt. Chris Pink
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  Speaker 2: is the Building Minister and with us now Hi Chris, Hello, Heather.
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  Speaker 2: Is this an admission that we went overboard with the previous.
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  Speaker 3: Rules, Well, it's a refocusing a few years later, having
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  Speaker 3: seen good rules well while intention rules come into effect
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  Speaker 3: and just thinking about the way that's paid out practically,
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  Speaker 3: we think that we can refine the system a bit
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  Speaker 3: so that we can have, you know, still a focus
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  Speaker 3: on life safety, but actually be a bit sensible and
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  Speaker 3: balanced about what that means for people who own this.
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  Speaker 2: Are we accepting more risk?
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  Speaker 3: I think it's a balanced approach to risk. I think
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  Speaker 3: actually we're not taking on any more risk given that
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  Speaker 3: we are focusing on on the most dangerous buildings. But
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  Speaker 3: also maybe an unintended consequence of having a gold standard
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  Speaker 3: that's proven very difficult to meet. Actually, we're more likely
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  Speaker 3: that the strengthening and remediation work takes place now because
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  Speaker 3: it's a bit more targeted.
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  Speaker 2: Will this save the chateau?
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  Speaker 3: I don't want to get into individual buildings, particularly when
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  Speaker 3: there's other factors. Well, I mean, each one will be
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  Speaker 3: assessed according to the relevant criteria, and I'm not familiar
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  Speaker 3: enough with them to get into that. But I just
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  Speaker 3: know there around New Zealand, in small town New Zealand
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  Speaker 3: as well as some of our biggest cities, there'll be
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  Speaker 3: a lot of winds where places are off the howk
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  Speaker 3: and people can go ahead and invest in them and
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  Speaker 3: have that.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So the chateau is five stories, right, and it
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  Speaker 2: looks to me to be made of stone, so it
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  Speaker 2: would still it would still have to be assessed, right,
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  Speaker 2: It wouldn't be exempt from these rules.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it sounds to me as though it wouldn't be
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  Speaker 3: out automatically, but you know, it might also be that.
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  Speaker 3: You know, and just to make it general, there are
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  Speaker 3: a few buildings or a large number of buildings actually
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  Speaker 3: that will remain caught by the system to some extent,
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  Speaker 3: but will only need a targeted retrofit or maybe just
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  Speaker 3: the securing of a facade rather than the full strengthening
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  Speaker 3: that the system currently required.
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  Speaker 2: What about the city to see Bridge and Wellington.
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  Speaker 3: Again, not wanting to get too specific, but that's you know,
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  Speaker 3: already received a stay of execution on the basis that
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  Speaker 3: we were about to have the announcement. So it seems
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  Speaker 3: to me that senity might prevail in terms of that
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  Speaker 3: and other landmark kind of buildings around the place, some
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  Speaker 3: of which are owned by councils and some of which
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  Speaker 3: are privately owned. And then you've got central government as well,
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  Speaker 3: so potentially a lot of winners of different entities not
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  Speaker 3: having to spend money that currently the law is forced.
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  Speaker 2: Wellington obviously has a whole bunch of buildings which are
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  Speaker 2: basically like, if not abandoned, at least closed because of
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  Speaker 2: these rules, like Reading Cinema, the Oldamorra Hotel and stuff.
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  Speaker 2: I guess is it possible that these buildings may actually
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  Speaker 2: be able to be opened.
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  Speaker 3: It will be a game changer for some in that respect,
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  Speaker 3: Or it might be that they can't be opened yet,
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  Speaker 3: but with a relatively small application of new funds would
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  Speaker 3: be able to get up to the standards, so you
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  Speaker 3: know there are different levels of assistance that are going
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  Speaker 3: to be provided by this and will be case by case,
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  Speaker 3: but overall the effect will be a big win for
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  Speaker 3: cities like Wellington, but further afield.
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  Speaker 2: Will it have an impact on insurance premiums?
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  Speaker 3: I think insurance is probably slightly different. I suspect it
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  Speaker 3: will have a downward pressure effect in terms of insurance premiums.
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  Speaker 3: But insurance will typically guard against buildings being damaged or
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  Speaker 3: compensate in the event that there is damage. So our
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  Speaker 3: aim as a government is actually to focus on life
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  Speaker 3: safety risks, so a slightly different metric. But where insurances
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  Speaker 3: currently say if you've got an earthquake prone building, according
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  Speaker 3: to the government, we're going to hike your premiums, those
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  Speaker 3: people will find some relief.
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  Speaker 2: All right, Chris, thank you very much, as always, Chris
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  Speaker 2: Pink Building Ministry.
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