Tamihere welcomes challenge of new department
“Homes aren’t just another product that people purchase. Owning your own home is something most kiwis aspire to and for
most of us the family home is the most significant purchase we ever make,” says John Tamihere.
“As a government we must make sure that when buying houses kiwis can have confidence that the building standards are
rigorous – and that if any problems arise there’s somewhere for them to go to seek redress.”
“However, we need to ensure that in setting rigorous standards we don’t impose compliance costs that make it impossible
for the construction industry to get on with the job of building high quality, affordable homes for kiwi families. As
Minister for Small Business, I am also all too aware of the costs of ill-conceived regulations.”
“Re-building public confidence in home building is not just a challenge for the government – but also for the industry
and I look forward to working closely with the industry to make sure this happens.” John Tamihere said.
The change also acknowledges that government departments need to be focussed on what works for the public, not just the
Wellington bureaucracy. This is another example of strengthening the public services we deliver to New Zealanders by
bringing together a range of different government agencies into a one-stop-shop designed to deliver to consumers and the
industry.
Mr Tamihere will take over responsibility for the new department once it has been established. Until then he will hold
the responsibilities as Associate Commerce Minister.
What will the new Department do? As a one-stop-shop for building and housing matters the department’s functions will
include:
Setting standards for establishing compliance with the building code Making determinations relating to building control
Reviewing territorial authorities and building certifiers Approving building certifiers Accrediting building products
and processes Providing information and advice on building controls Running the mediation services for resolving
leaky-homes disputes Providing information, advice and dispute resolution services to landlords and tenants
Administering tenancy bonds Monitoring Housing New Zealand Monitoring and regulating retirement villages.
For more information see http://www.ssc.govt.nz/statement-on-dept-building-and-housing.