Hawkins softens stance against leaky building inquiry

By FRANCESCA MOLD

Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins appears to have backed away from an earlier decision ruling out an inquiry into the leaky buildings phenomenon, saying yesterday that it was too early to know if one was needed.

On Tuesday, Mr Hawkins was adamant a full public inquiry was not necessary.

He said a report commissioned by the Building Industry Authority, which found that the growing problem of rotting and leaking houses could lead to a national repair bill of $240 million, had covered the issue in great detail.

But under pressure from the Opposition in Parliament yesterday, Mr Hawkins was more equivocal.

"What I'm saying is it [an inquiry] is premature at the moment."

However, he said he had acted on the report's recommendation that building industry leaders should meet. He had asked the authority to meet in the next month to discuss the issue and suggest solutions.

"This Government will not stand behind Flash Freddies, Whingeing Waynes and other builders who have made a mess of it," said Mr Hawkins.

"We are not going to stand behind poor workmanship."

Pressure on the Government to hold an inquiry with public submissions and the power to call evidence mounted yesterday, with the Opposition launching an attack on Mr Hawkins in Parliament.

National MP Wayne Mapp said thousands of New Zealanders, many on low incomes, wanted to know who was liable for their rotting homes.

He criticised Mr Hawkins' suggestion that people use the courts to sue those responsible, saying it would cost homeowners thousands of extra dollars in legal fees.

Act MP Deborah Coddington said a previous Government had made the decision to remove the requirement that treated timber be used in housing so there should at the very least be a select committee inquiry into the problem.

The author of the building authority's report, former State Commissioner Don Hunn, also repeated his call for a formal inquiry.

"There is so much feeling and anger around that only a public inquiry will give people a chance to have their say," he told National Radio yesterday.

Mr Hawkins again raised the claim that no building constructed in compliance with the building code had been found to have leaks. He said he was told so by authority chief executive Bill Porteous.

The minister blamed the problem on building inspectors who had certified properties without making sure they complied with all the rules.

"All houses that comply with all the building requirements will not leak," he said. "It may be, however, that some building certifiers or building inspectors have signed off houses that they shouldn't."

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Further reading
Feature: Leaky buildings

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