Latest news with #InnovationandEmployment
Scoop
an hour ago
- Business
- Scoop
Commonsense Changes To Insulation Rules
Minister for Building and Construction Overly rigid insulation rules are being removed to ease costs for designers, builders and homeowners, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced. 'I've heard clearly from the industry that the current one-size-fits-all approach to insulation requirements is needlessly driving-up costs. 'The most prescriptive compliance pathway currently available for insulation – known as the Schedule Method – doesn't allow for design trade-offs that can affect a home's energy efficiency, like adjusting window size. 'This has led to designers and homeowners having to over-insulate in certain areas to achieve Building Code compliance, offering little extra energy efficiency benefit at a significant cost. 'To address this, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will remove the current Schedule Method in favour of more flexible alternatives. 'Smarter online tools now let us take a balanced, whole-of-home approach to energy efficiency – enabling builders and designers to measure a home's total heat loss instead of being locked into prescriptive requirements. 'Using adaptable Calculation and Modelling Methods is shown to cut the cost of an average new build by up to $15,000. 'The government will now work closely with the sector to ensure a smooth transition before the change takes effect. 'The Schedule Method will be removed from the Building Code's Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods for Energy Efficiency by the end of the year, followed by a 12-month transition period to give the sector time to adjust. 'I've also directed officials to explore designating the Far North as a separate climate zone under the Building Code, responding to calls from local leaders to ease insulation rules in the region. 'The Far North District Council made a strong case in its energy-efficiency review submission, highlighting that the region's warmer climate and need for affordable housing allow for a more tailored approach. 'I've heard from the district council that building costs in the Far North are approaching $5,000 per square metre. They're pushing for change to deliver more homes for locals at a reasonable price – an ambition I fully support. 'In my view, recognising Northland's unique climate with a separate zone is a sensible step that could lower costs and unlock much-needed housing supply. 'MBIE will consult on any proposed changes to the region's climate zone designation before final decisions are made, and I look forward to hearing feedback from the public. 'This Government is committed to making commonsense changes and cutting construction red tape to make building easier and more affordable – putting more roofs over Kiwi heads, while ensuring those homes stay safe and dry for our families.' Notes In the context of thermal performance in buildings, insulation refers to materials that reduce heat transfer by acting as a barrier between two areas. This includes products like fibreglass, wool, and glazing. Updated documents with the Schedule Method removed are expected to be published in November 2025. A 12-month transition period will run thereafter, so designers can continue using the old documents with the Schedule Method. MBIE will support the sector with guidance on how to use the more flexible Calculation Method to demonstrate compliance with the Building Code.
1News
2 hours ago
- 1News
Queenstown landlord fined $113,000 for unlawful boarding house
A Queenstown landlord has been fined more than $113,000 for illegally using his property as a boarding house for 22 tenants — migrant workers. Landlord James Truong must pay this amount to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on behalf of the tenants, who were primarily employed in Queenstown's hospitality industry. In 2020, the Queenstown Lakes District Council and MBIE's Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team warned Truong to stop using the property as a boarding house or apply for permission to formally change its use. He was clearly informed the rules of operating a boarding house and communicated his decision to return the property to use as a regular home. However, after receiving a complaint in 2023, the team investigated the property again and found 11 people living in the five-bedroom house, and a further 11 people in two converted garages and a shed. ADVERTISEMENT Garage area where five tenants were living. (Source: TCIT Queenstown) The investigations team took the case to the Tenancy Tribunal, which found Truong committed "multiple breaches of the Act" including operating an unconsented boarding house, failing to meet healthy homes standards, interfering with tenants' electricity supply, invalid rent increases and harassment of a tenant. The property had several problems, such as electricity overloading, missing smoke alarms and non-compliance with healthy homes standards. Smoke alarm not installed with attached bracket on dresser. (Source: TCIT Queenstown) Truong claimed the premises were safe and compliant, and he was simply helping his tenants out, but the tribunal declared the premises to be unlawful residential premises, as he did not have the necessary consent to operate a boarding house with six or more tenants. Investigations team national manager Brett Wilson said Truong was "an experienced landlord who would have been well aware of his obligations and responsibilities under the Act, including through previous interactions with him". "Mr Truong knew the rules but chose to ignore them. There was significant non-compliance in this case with multiple breaches of the Act ranging from failure to comply with healthy homes and insulation statement requirements to interfering with the supply of electricity. The level of damages awarded reflects the seriousness of the non-compliance in this case and the number of people affected," he said. ADVERTISEMENT Another smoke alarm not installed sitting on fridge and no brackets on the ceiling to show where it should have been installed. (Source: TCIT Queenstown) Wilson said the tenants were in a vulnerable situation, given most of them were new to the country and there was a shortage of rental properties in the Queenstown area. "Many of the tenants were overseas workers on working holiday visas who had little knowledge of their rights as tenants in New Zealand. They were also working in a location with a shortage of rental accommodation which made them vulnerable to a landlord who was knowingly operating outside of the Residential Tenancies Act." The adjudicator, R Woodhouse, said the investigation had been conducted in a fulsome and careful manner by MBIE, saying: "The witness evidence was consistent and credible". Gap between tenanted garages and main house. (Source: TCIT Queenstown) Woodhouse also did not accept that Truong was motivated by purely altruistic intentions, noting the commercial levels of rent charged at the premises were not consistent with that approach, and when attention from authorities came onto the premises, the tenancies were abruptly terminated. The Tribunal also criticised Truong for secretly recording private conversations between tenants and MBIE investigators, using security cameras installed throughout the property. ADVERTISEMENT Truong was ordered to pay $113,723.56 for breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, and to refund 40% of the rent paid while the property was operating as an unlawful boarding house. He was also issued with a three-year restraining order from committing any further unlawful acts related to operating a boarding house. If a landlord intentionally breaches a restraining order this is an offence tried in the District Court and under Section 109A of the Residential Tenancies Act they are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3600.
Newsroom
6 days ago
- Business
- Newsroom
The double-whammy bill natural gas users have to pay
A controversial $200-million fund for investment in local gas exploration aims to tackle ever-dwindling supplies, but it won't be soon enough for thousands of households trapped with gas connections they don't want, a consumer expert says. The four-year contingency fund to subsidise new fossil fuel fields was announced by Resources Minister Shane Jones at last month's Budget. Just weeks later, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment revealed that our natural gas supply is running out faster than previously thought, with latest data showing reserves have fallen 27 percent from last year. But any new developments will take years, and gas households already face surging costs, says Paul Fuge, manager of Consumer New Zealand's Powerswitch. Residential consumers make up only 4 percent of the country's total gas use and Fuge says it won't be running out in the near future. But that is no consolation for gas customers who are being hit in the pocket twice. 'It costs more to have gas than electricity so an electricity-only house is much cheaper to run than a gas-electricity house because you can substitute all your gas appliances for electric appliances … but you can't run a TV on gas or your lights on gas,' says Fuge. That means gas customers have to have an electricity connection, which means double the costs of the infrastructure – gas pipes and electricity lines – needed to deliver the energy to people's homes. Gas customers are also locked out of cheaper electricity plans because most gas suppliers also demand that customers take their electricity. The companies that provide cheap electricity don't provide gas, Fuge says. Add to that the phasing out of low electricity charges for low users, which was a benefit for gas customers. 'What that means is people's electricity connections for the low users are getting more expensive every year over five years and that disadvantages gas customers,' he says. Customers who are renters are stuck with gas, as are people on low incomes because they can't afford to switch, Fuge says. He explains to The Detail why he thinks thousands of new households have connected to gas in recent years, despite rising prices. 'I wonder if it's when people are building new houses, developers may be putting in gas for various reasons.' The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment does not have specific figures for new connections but based on rising residential use, Fuge calculates that the number of household connections has increased by around 18,000 since 2019, to 290,000. Residential customers make up the smallest proportion of gas use. According to industry group GasNZ more than half a million New Zealand homes and businesses rely on gas and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). There are 300 large industrial gas customers, from methanol exporter Methanex to dairy plants and wood processors. Newsroom senior political reporter Marc Daalder says the large industrial users are more imperilled by the declining gas supply, as well as the electricity generators that rely on gas. He says the coalition's plans to repeal a ban on new oil and gas exploration will not solve our dwindling gas supplies any time soon. 'The fastest we've had from a conversion from finding that gas to producing that gas is 10 years and it's hard to say in 2035 we know exactly what our gas needs are going to look like. 'The reality is they're probably going to be a lot lower because we're going to be electrifying everything and some of the industries that we've got that rely on gas are going to be electrifying or closing down.' The other option is finding more gas in the existing fields which has been going on consistently and continually for many years, including since the exploration ban was put into place. 'About a billion dollars has been spent trying to find extra gas in those existing fields and there have been a few minor successes but nothing major.' However, two fields are showing potential new gas finds, which the $200-million government co-investment fund could boost. 'Shane Jones would really like for the Government to be able to completely revitalise the gas industry and send people out looking for brand new gas in brand new places. The reality is we haven't found any gas in a brand new place for two decades or longer,' says Daalder. 'It's not like the Gulf of Mexico where there is all this gas sitting there. The resource probably isn't that strong; $200 million isn't going to suddenly make it commercial to take that big of a gamble.' Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Research projects gain funding of $1m each
Otago research projects on glowworms, natural hazards, heart attacks and reconstructive surgery have each received about $1 million in funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. They are among 46 early stage research initiatives which received funding in this year's Endeavour Fund Smart Ideas investment round. Each project was selected for its potential to deliver significant scientific, environmental and economic benefits for New Zealand. University of Otago biochemist Prof Kurt Krause is leading a project which aims to harness the unique glow of the New Zealand glowworm (titiwai) as a biotechnology tool. "We will work to understand and enhance these bioluminescent properties in the laboratory and explore the use of this bioluminescent system as a biotechnology tool in biomedical and biological investigations. "Biotechnology tools based on luminescence can be used to track disease causing microorganisms or locate abnormal cells, like cancer cells, in organs and tissues." School of Surveying researcher Prof Tony Moore is looking at climate stress-testing to improve the resilience of New Zealand's real estate market in the face of natural hazards. "The team will improve the physical multi-hazard analysis using site-specific climate and groundwater data sets; factor behavioural responses of market participants (homeowners, banking and insurance firms) and explore how this may affect the pricing of flooding risk; develop better ways to estimate risks to mortgage lending including repayment and defaults; capture the wider effects of flooding risk on the broader economy and financial stability; and go beyond financial impacts and consider social, physical, and cultural factors with a spatial multi-criteria risk index. "Successfully achieving these goals will result in more accurate, applicable, and relevant climate risk estimates that better serve the needs of climate risk pricing and adaptation policies." University of Otago (Christchurch) medical researcher Prof Chris Pemberton is leading a project which aims to develop a point-of-care blood testing device designed to help predict cardiovascular disease risk. Advanced biochemistry and experimental cardiology techniques had been used to discover two novel proteins carried in the blood that could accurately assess a person's risk of serious heart disease and future heart attack. A prototype point-of-care device capable of measuring these proteins from a very small blood sample has since been built, potentially enabling on-site testing in small towns and remote areas. The next step was to bring the device to commercial markets, he said. University of Otago (Christchurch) orthopaedic surgery and musculoskeletal medicine researcher Prof Tim Woodfield aims to revolutionise the medical aesthetic and tissue grafting industry by developing a new light-based medical device. "The process involves injecting tissue-like materials into the targeted site with the aim of contouring tissue under the skin or repairing damage. "Our light-based technology is expected to drastically reduce the number of repeated reconstruction surgeries that are currently performed (e.g. breast cancer surgeries) and support tissue regeneration."
Otago Daily Times
24-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Deadline to comply with Healthy Homes rules looms
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Dunedin renters are living in cold, damp and mouldy houses. PHOTO: ODT FILES Time is running out for rental properties to comply with Healthy Homes rules. By July 1, all tenancies need to meet the rules. But what can you do if you're living in one that has not been brought up to standard? What are the Healthy Homes standards, anyway? The rules set basic standards for heating, insulation and ventilation. PHOTO: ODT FILES They have been introduced in stages, but from next Tuesday, every rental property needs to comply. Landlords need to provide one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat a home's main living room. These need to meet the minimum heating capacity. Properties need to be insulated in the ceiling and under the floor, unless the design of the home makes this impossible. Every liveable area needs a window or door that opens to the outdoors and can be fixed open. Kitchens and bathrooms need extractor fans. PHOTO: ODT FILES But what if your home doesn't meet these rules? All rental properties also need efficient drainage, guttering and downpipes and any gaps or holes need to be blocked. If you are reading through that list and thinking the place you're renting is not up to standard, there are a few things you can do. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment head of tenancy Kat Watson said tenants could start by talking to their landlords or property managers and checking for a Healthy Homes compliance statement in their tenancy agreements. If that does not solve the problem, they could then give their landlords written notice asking them to fix the issues. Tenants can give landlords a 14-day notice to resolve, requiring action on specific things. PHOTO: ODT FILES What if that doesn't work? If you have no luck with these steps, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for help. "An adjudicator can make decisions such as issuing a work order for the landlord to bring the property up to standard, order compensation to be paid for failing to do so in the first place or award damages to be paid by the landlord for not meeting minimum standards for rental properties," Ms Watson said. "For serious or repeated breaches — especially those affecting vulnerable individuals — you can contact the tenancy compliance and investigations team. "Tenancy Services' website has great resources for first-time tenants, to help them understand what to expect and what to look for when moving into a rental home, particularly for those renting for the first time. Tenants are responsible for keeping a rental property reasonably clean and tidy." By Susan Edmunbds
