KEY POINTS:
Waitakere city mayor Bob Harvey says all those responsible for their part in the leaky homes crisis need to stop making excuses and face-up to the problem, so people whose lives have been destroyed can move on.
An Auckland woman with a poorly built leaky home was awarded
$250,000 in a High Court ruling which has led to speculation about the implications for councils, builders and architects.
Justice David Baragwanath awarded $250,900 to Hobsonville homeowner Colleen Dicks in a case heard in two sittings during September and October, the Weekend Herald reported yesterday.
Mr Harvey told NZPA he was not an apologist for what went wrong and no-one should be.
"This was serious and has destroyed the lives of many.
"The quicker local government and insurers face up to it the better."
Mr Harvey said the leaky homes crises were a blot on what was otherwise an excellent local government track record.
"I find it difficult that people are starting to make excuses and hide from the issues."
Mr Harvey said a number of people had made mistakes, including architects, builders and city building inspectors, whose job it was to stop this from happening.
"And now there is a cost but also to the lives destroyed."
Mr Harvey said he was "hugely concerned" about the potential cost to ratepayers who may end up paying for it.
"Who is going to pay for it if Government is not going to?"
Mr Harvey said the leaky homes crisis and its fallout was not about the integrity of local government.
Consumers Institute chief executive David Russell said the ruling set a precedent for legal action.
"People would take heart from the decision."
Mr Russell told NZPA today compensation and areas of responsibility were difficult issues as many developers and incompetent builders would not be traced.
"The developers disappeared and they are difficult to track down, when they should be facing the music."
Mr Russell said the leaky homes crisis also highlighted the responsibility of the homeowner in building homes.
Home-owners could not expect to have the technical knowledge required for many aspects of building but Mr Russell said there was a trend towards Mediterranean style homes which were "totally inappropriate" in New Zealand.
- NZPA