We'll insulate 53,000 homes a year: Winston Peters

There are still too many poorly insulated properties in New Zealand, NZ First says. Picture supplied.

New Zealand First has announced policy to insulate 53,000 homes a year until all New Zealand houses have adequate insulation.

Leader Winston Peters announced the programme in a speech to Grey Power in Hamilton, saying the Government's Warm Up New Zealand scheme will be axed next year - despite 530,000 homes having inadequate insulation.

"We have the Prime Minister who talks big about social investment but has cut a programme that helps homes to be warm and healthy for people of limited financial means," Peters said.

New Zealand First said its insulation programme would be a public-private partnership (PPP) and aim to insulate 53,000 homes a year at a cost of $1000 per house - totalling $530m over 10 years.

"We want an end to what was reported last week - the story of a Kapiti family who said their rental property was so mouldy, damp and hard to heat that they would be better off living in a tent," Peters said.

"The mother said, 'Our baby has been admitted to the hospital three times with respiratory problems. The third time it was quite bad because she ended up in ICU with bronchiolitis'. New Zealand First will work to end this shocking situation."

The Warm Up New Zealand Healthy Homes insulation grants provide up to 50 per cent of the cost for underfloor and ceiling insulation is available only for rental properties built before 2000 where the tenants are on a low income.

Last month Energy Minister Judith Collins announced eligibility will be extended to include low-income home owners and for properties where tenants have high health needs. The grants will be available until the end of June 2018.

In the past eight years about 300,000 homes have been insulated through the Warm Up New Zealand insulation programmes.

Budget 2016 allocated $18m to extend the programme for a further two years until June 2018, with the government saying the funding would help upgrade 20,000 houses occupied by low-income tenants.

However, landlords have been slow to take up the grants and just 3700 houses have been insulated.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei this week said the Greens would lift funding for the Warm Up NZ insulation scheme it devised alongside the National Party in 2009, as well as a rheumatic fever treatment programme. The Government halved funding for the latter in this year's Budget, as the Ministry of Health decided to focus on the most at-risk population groups rather than every district health board.