New Assessment System May Tax Incoming Building Minister
October 9th, 2008
An effort by local authority building officials through their national body, the Building Officials Institute of NZ (BOINZ), to set up their own assessment service for products they will need to approve in the building consent and compliance process is raising eyebrows. Officials have the legal power to accept or reject building products intended for use in new housing or structural alterations. Critics say it might be compared with the Public Service Association saying it will give a “yay” or a “nay” on a commercial fee-paying basis to groups making requests to regulatory arms of Govt. One unnamed industry figure says “you’d have to assume if the BOINZ service approved or rejected a product this would be reflected by BOINZ members in the consent process. Would it not deserve scrutiny as an abuse of regulatory power?” This seems likely to become an issue for the incoming Building and Construction Minister and the Department of Building and Housing.
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Duncan Cotterill