Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Julien Leys: Building Industry Federation CEO on the new legislation around importing building supplies from overseas

Transcript

Julien Leys: Building Industry Federation CEO on the new legislation around importing building supplies from overseas · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The government's making it easier to import a bigger range
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  Speaker 1: of building products. It is fifty percent more expensive to
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  Speaker 1: build a standalone home in New Zealand than it is
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  Speaker 1: in Australia. Now Minister Chris Pink he's introduced legislation that
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  Speaker 1: will open up the market in theory and bring in
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  Speaker 1: more competition. But should we be worried about faulty products
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  Speaker 1: being led in leaky building et cetera. Building Industry Federation
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  Speaker 1: Chief executive Julian Lasers with me this morning. Julian, good morning,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning Ryan. What products do we need a better
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  Speaker 1: range of?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting, I think was what the government has
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  Speaker 2: identified is they can look for equal or of equivalent
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  Speaker 2: standards where there are costs or concentrations in construction. So
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  Speaker 2: they're looking for products such as internal linings, external claddings, windows,
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  Speaker 2: plumbing products and insubation and because that's where often some
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  Speaker 2: of the you know, the biggest costs are and that
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  Speaker 2: they're going to focus on those things. And for example,
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  Speaker 2: water which is an Australian certification has I think two
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  Speaker 2: hundred thousand products that are certified that meet our building code.
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  Speaker 2: Those sorts of things will be you know, able to
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  Speaker 2: be brought into the market and provide much more choice,
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  Speaker 2: and there should be little risk of not betting our
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  Speaker 2: building code.
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  Speaker 1: Right, So if it's good enough for the Aussies, it's
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  Speaker 1: good enough for us. When you say little risk of
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  Speaker 1: not meeting our building code, is there a chance that
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  Speaker 1: these products might perform differently here than over there?
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's a great question, because of course it's not.
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  Speaker 2: You know, products are never just they never just act
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  Speaker 2: in isolation in a building that we know, building systems
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  Speaker 2: based on the performance of many different criterias. If you
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  Speaker 2: take a wall, you know that's made up of a
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  Speaker 2: frame and trust insulation plus the board of ventilation, all
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  Speaker 2: that sort of thing. Yeah, I think I think that
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  Speaker 2: there was always in the detail our it be as
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  Speaker 2: I record, it is going to have to be very
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  Speaker 2: clear in what those standards are, and so I think
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  Speaker 2: will only peck standards and products specifically from those of
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  Speaker 2: trusted overseas jurisdictions that are as close to our kinds
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  Speaker 2: as possible. That's the only way they can avoid any trouble.
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  Speaker 1: Julian, is this going to shift the dial in terms
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  Speaker 1: of how much a cost to build a home in
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  Speaker 1: New Zealand? Standalone home being fifty percent more expensive to
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  Speaker 1: build here than Australia. Is it going to shift the dial?
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  Speaker 2: I don't look, I think it's going to shift the dial.
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  Speaker 2: Building materials may for about twenty percent of the cost
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  Speaker 2: of a house overall. I think it will certainly reduce
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  Speaker 2: some cost and bring those costs down over time, which
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  Speaker 2: is what we're all aiming for. You know, anything's better
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  Speaker 2: than nothing, right, so if we can get more choice
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  Speaker 2: and more competition, that that's going to be good.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for your time this morning, Julian Lays, Building Industry
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  Speaker 1: Federation chief executive.
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• 3:00
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