Clare Curran
MP Dunedin South
Labour Spokesperson on Communications and IT

Release details on insulation package now: Labour MP

The National Government must urgently release practical details of how and when its home insulation package will be available for the people who need it most, Dunedin South Labour MP Clare Curran said today.

Clare Curran also called on new Greens Leader Metiria Turei to press the government to make the money available as soon as possible, particularly for those who live in New Zealand’s coldest dampest houses, and to increase the size of the programme.

“I congratulate Metiria on her new position. But it’s all very well to talk about a Green New Deal, while the people of Dunedin live in cold damp houses and many suffer from ill health as a result.

“I have been contacted by many people in Dunedin wanting to know how they can access funds to insulate and heat their houses,” Curran said. “As an MP in a city with some of the coldest and dampest houses in the country, this is an important priority and I expect the government to make good its promise at the earliest opportunity.”

“I expect the funds to be available from 1 July, even though we will be well into winter by then.
“I am also very concerned that the size of the government’s commitment will go nowhere far enough to heat and insulate the number of homes that need it.

“In Dunedin alone, it is estimated that up to 40,000 homes need better insulation and heating.

“Labour’s policy to make our houses warm and dry figured prominently in the Dunedin election campaign.

“The previous Labour Government had a policy commitment to invest $1 billion over 15 years to insulate and heat New Zealand homes. We know now that wasn’t enough.

“It is estimated that there are more than one million New Zealand homes that are not properly insulated.

The Green-National Party home insulation deal announced in the budget plans to spend just $323 million over four years. Labour has estimated that this includes just $36 million a year in new money. The rest was money previously allocated by the former Labour Government.

“It’s not enough, but it’s a start but I urge the government and the Greens to ensure that the money becomes easily available soon, and that the people who need it the most, get access to it first.

“The Green-National insulation package was a massive missed opportunity for New Zealand. Instead of scaling back the scheme we should have been looking at ways to expand it, which would result in significantly increased health outcomes for many New Zealanders, more jobs and savings in energy and savings in people’s power bills.

“It would be good to hear the Greens calling for the scope of the insulation package to be increased dramatically," Curran said.

ENDS

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