Hon Maurice Williamson

Minister for Building and Construction
15 April 2013 Media Statement
Govt responds to Earthquakes Royal Commission

Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson today announced progress has been made on responding to the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission final report and its recommendations.

The Government has accepted, or accepted in principle, 77 of the remaining 83 recommendations to be dealt with from the Royal Commission’s report (Volumes 5-7).

“In summary, 170 of the total 189 recommendations in the report have now been accepted in full or in principle. Of the outstanding 19 recommendations, 13 are still being dealt with in the review of earthquake-prone buildings policy, and six have been noted,” Mr Williamson says.

“We are in the first stage of the Government’s response. A staged approach has to be taken because many of the recommendations require changes in the law or how professional bodies operate, and in some instances significant research.

“The Government will announce later this year a new policy for dealing with earthquake-prone buildings. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is currently reviewing more than 500 submissions lodged in response to initial proposals,” Mr Williamson says.

A large amount of work is already underway to address recommendations made in the Royal Commission’s final report. This includes how buildings are managed after a disaster, placarding of buildings and investigating a building’s failure.

At a technical level the Government is progressing work on revising the Building Code with regards to the structural performance of buildings.

“We are planning work with GNS to gain a better understanding of land and natural hazards and the impacts for design and construction. We are also looking to upgrade standards for concrete and steel structures and further guidance on the assessment and remediation of buildings of all types.

“It is important to remember the Royal Commission concluded the regulatory regime governing the building and construction industry is basically sound and that wholesale change is not required. What we have here is the opportunity to make a good system an excellent one.”

ENDS

Key points:

• The Government accepts the overall conclusions of the Royal Commission and is acting on them.

• The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is the lead agency on 177 of the total 189 recommendations made by the Royal Commission.

• MBIE has begun a multi-year work programme to address the recommendations. This programme can be divided into 10 key areas:

o Structural performance, standards and practice

o Land and geotechnical

o Earthquake-prone buildings

o Existing buildings resilience

o Post disaster building management

o Professional practice and capabilities

o Public information

o Research

o Property identification and information

o Policy, regulatory and practice change work programme

• To date, 121 recommendations have been accepted and a further 49 have been accepted in principle.

• Recommendations that are accepted are technical or there is no need to change the law before Government can start work to respond to them. Those that are accepted in principle are those where a law change is required.

• Of the outstanding 19 recommendations, 13 are still being worked on as part of the earthquake-prone buildings policy review, and six have been noted.

• Other agencies responsible for recommendations are Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, Treasury, Land Information New Zealand and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage.

• In Volumes 1 to 3 the Royal Commission made 70 recommendations. Most are technical and some align with work already underway by MBIE’s Building System Performance Branch. The Government announced it had accepted all those 70 recommendations in August 2012.

• In Volume 4, the Royal Commission made 36 recommendations, many with policy and legislative implications. In particular, a consultation document was issued to promote discussion around possible options for changing the way earthquake-prone buildings are managed. This consultation has now closed with over 500 people or groups making a submission. A new policy will be announced later this year.

• The recommendations suggest legislative changes to the Building Act 2004, the Historic Places Act 1993, the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Earthquake Commission Act 1993.

© Scoop Media