BIA Can't See The Forest For The Trees

ACT New Zealand Forestry Spokesman Gerry Eckhoff today expressed his incredulity at the Building Industry Authority's demand for all Oregon or Douglas fir wood to be treated, and accused the BIA of simply kowtowing to the Government's insistence that `something be done'.

"Douglas fir is a hard wood, and there is no way that it can be treated - it is simply wrong to impose the same building standards to Central Otago as in North Auckland," Mr Eckhoff said.

"Untreated framing timber remains sound after 100 years in Central Otago. The BIA would be far better to research adequate ventilation techniques than to blame the timber industry. They say that `a poor workman blames his tools' - the timber industry is being blamed for shoddy design and building techniques under Government supervision.

"It is not the materials that are causing the problems - it is building techniques and practises that have caused the leaky building crisis that this knee-jerk reacts to.

"Obviously, the BIA does not understand this, or the Government officials in charge would not have made such an outrageous demand. Enforcing this requirement will result in a significant cost for homeowners - a cost that is totally unwarranted," Mr Eckhoff said.

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