Brendon Burns
MP for Christchurch Central
       
       

 
Sixty years more in the cold under National’s policy

A Parliamentary committee was told today it would take 60 years to insulate the rest of New Zealand homes if there is no increase in funding.

The chief executive and chair of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority were appearing before the Local Government and Environment committee.

Labour MP Brendon Burns said EECA told the committee that around 900,000 of New Zealand’s 1.6 million homes were not properly insulated and half of them had no insulation at all.

“Little wonder, EECA chief executive Mike Underhill described the New Zealand housing stock as appalling,” said Brendon Burns.

“EECA told the committee it is still on target to continue insulating around 12,000 or so houses a year through the funding it inherited from the Labour government.

“But unless there is a huge lift in funding as Labour proposed, it will take another 60 years to insulate all New Zealand homes.

“EECA’s chair Roger Sutton told the committee that there is no shortage of staff able to insulate homes – in fact as the recession bites, there were more people willing to take on the work.

“MPs were advised that studies show there are huge health benefits from insulation as warm people get sick less often. It was suggested that the $2800 average cost of insulating a house is about the same as a single (emergency) admission to hospital – and such admissions are significantly reduced for people living in warm homes.

“The facts in favour of the National government adopting a wholesale insulation programme continue to stack up,” said Brendon Burns.

“Otherwise we face hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders continuing to live in damp, cold homes, paying larger power bills and getting sick more often than they would if their properties were insulated. We also have a building downturn - so what better time for the Government to admit it needs to start a mass insulation programme?.”
       
      ENDS

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