Research makes the case for extending home insulation scheme
8 April 2013
New research makes the case for
extending home insulation scheme
Two new health reports identifying damp housing
as one of the root causes of child illness is further
evidence of the need to extend the successful Warm Up New
Zealand insulation scheme, Green Party Co-leader Metiria
Turei said today.
“Getting adequate insulation into kiwi homes isn’t a ‘nice to have’; it is a health priority,” Mrs Turei said
“New research released from the University of Canterbury links poor home heating to increased asthma hospital admissions.
“This comes on the back of a report yesterday linking rheumatic fever to damp housing.
“New Zealand has one of the highest asthma and rheumatic fever rates among developed countries. Home insulation can play a big part in reducing those rates.
“The Warm up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme was negotiated by the Greens as part of our Memorandum of Understanding with National. It has been a success, insulating 200,000 kiwi homes to date. It has created $1.3billion of benefits, mainly in better child health but these reports show there is more to do.
``Now is the time to ensure the insulation scheme continues and has the opportunity to broaden its reach. We hope the Government extends funding for the scheme in the upcoming budget
“Improving conditions inside kiwi
homes for the kids that need it most is a priority.
Extending the scheme is a common sense way to reduce rates
of rheumatic fever and asthma, Mrs Turei said.