26 April 2005

Leaky Housing Fiasco Continues

New Zealand First Housing spokesperson Brent Catchpole says the Government’s move to shield itself from the billion dollar leaky homes scandal is a disgrace and of concern to all those affected by the problem.

He was responding to a report in The New Zealand Herald today that the Government now plans to shift leaky building litigation to the Treasury because it fears the public has lost confidence in both the Weathertight Resolution Service and the new Department of Building and Housing resulting in the potential for a flood of claims.

“Dissolving the Building Industry Authority into the Department of Building and Housing last November paved the way for this avoidance of responsibility, just as I predicted at the time,” said Mr Catchpole.

“Now there is the danger that it will fall back on the homeowners to foot the bill. If not them then the territorial authorities will be dragged into it, which ultimately translates to the burden being transferred to ratepayers,” concluded Mr Catchpole.

ENDS

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