MPs slam watchdog chief for not resigning sooner

By FRANCESCA MOLD

A committee of MPs has condemned former Building Industry Authority chief executive Bill Porteous for failing to step down at the height of the leaky building crisis last year.

Dr Porteous has been under pressure to resign for months, with Opposition MPs holding him responsible for the failure to alert the Government and the public to the rotting homes syndrome.

He resigned on Monday night, just hours before the release of a select committee report which singled out his role in the crisis.

National's housing spokesman, Wayne Mapp, said Dr Porteous' sudden resignation was a "sham" because the authority was keeping him on as chief policy adviser.

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel said Dr Porteous would suffer "a significant reduction in pay".

"He's got a right to privacy over arrangements that are in fact operational," she said.

The BIA last night refused to reveal his new salary band. It was understood Dr Porteous earned between $140,000 and $149,000 aschief executive.

In the report, National, New Zealand First and United Future said the serious deficiencies in Dr Porteous' performance and the extent of the damage suffered by New Zealand homeowners should have led to his immediate resignation last year.

But Labour MPs said the problems were partly related to management style and structural problems in the BIA which had gone undetected for many years.

BIA chairman Barry Brown said he accepted the report's findings but was disappointed by the criticism of Dr Porteous. The former chief executive had played a key role in ensuring an independent report into weathertightness issues had been commissioned by the BIA.

"That report ... was the catalyst for the significant activity now under way ... to resolve the problem," said Mr Brown.

Senior ministers seemed to welcome Dr Porteous' resignation yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen said it was a sensible move and Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel said Dr Porteous had acted honourably.

Greg O'Sullivan, of building inspection company Prendos, who has campaigned on the dangers of untreated timber, said he did not agree with Dr Porteous remaining on as an adviser.

"I wish he wasn't there at all. That's a Clayton's resignation isn't it?"

Bill Porteous' CV

* Dr Bill Porteous was appointed chief executive of the Building Industry Authority in March 1998.

* Taught building construction for 19 years at Victoria University before BIA job

* Former president of the New Zealand Institute of Building.

* He gained a PhD in 1993 which concentrated on building failures in New Zealand.


* If you have information about leaking buildings,
email the Herald or fax (09) 373-6421.