Insulation plan puts more people out of work

National’s poorly designed subsidies for home heating and insulation companies are putting people out of work, Labour’s Associate Energy spokesperson Chris Hipkins says.

“It’s extremely unfair that many small heating and insulation businesses are being forced out of the market because of the flawed way the National-led government is delivering the subsidies,” Chris Hipkins said.

“I’ve been particularly disappointed to hear of a number of small employers who had taken on extra staff, many of whom had previously been unemployed, only to then find that they had to lay them off again when they couldn’t get the subsidies.

“These firms had scaled-up their operations in good faith. Many of them had been able to access subsidies in the past and were looking forward to the big funding boost National had been trumpeting.

“Suddenly they found themselves shut out in the cold. Of the 249 businesses that applied for subsidies with EECA, only 60 gained approval. That’s just not right.

“If they’re meeting the quality standards, why should they be excluded?

“National’s scheme has been biased towards large providers at the expense of small specialist ones. Bigger is not always better, particularly in this case where many of the approved providers aren’t specialists in home insulation while those who do have considerable expertise in the field are shut out.

“Labour supports initiatives to increase the number of Kiwi homes that are properly heated and insulated, but we’re concerned the current government seems to be cutting lots of corners.

“You wouldn’t expect someone insulating your home to cut any corners and we shouldn’t expect it from our Government either,” Chris Hipkins said.

ENDS

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