MPs rap Internal Affairs on leaky buildings

MPs have given the Department of Internal Affairs a rap over the knuckles for its handling of the leaky buildings affair.

MPs on the Government administration committee expressed their displeasure yesterday in their report into the financial review of the department.

"We are concerned that weathertightness was not raised as a substantial issue in need of legislative reform when the department reported to the minister in February 2002," says the committee report.

Internal Affairs oversees the Government watchdog for building problems, the Building Industry Authority (BIA).

The BIA failed to alert Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins about a crisis expected to take millions of dollars to fix.

The committee says it is concerned that "reporting practices do not provide a basis for a clear and effective accountability relationship between the BIA and the responsible minister".

Internal Affairs dedicated one-fifth of a staff-member's time to monitoring the BIA.

In prioritising its resources, it identified the BIA as requiring lower-intensity monitoring.

It received only BIA board minutes and financial reports, in lieu of monitoring reports.

"We consider the department's monitoring arrangements were insufficient, both in respect of identifying the emerging issues facing the BIA and in providing assurance to the minister on the discharge of its stewardship responsibilities," says the committee.

However, the department's monitoring of the BIA has increased significantly in recent months, the committee notes.

BIA officials were in November warned they were on notice for letting down the Government over the leaky homes crisis.

"To some extent they are under test over the next few months," said Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen.

"The BIA has got a responsibility to show that they can change."

- NZPA

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Herald feature: Leaky buildings

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