3. MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Energy and Resources
How many houses were insulated in September through the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation scheme?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources) Link to this
In September of this year we had a third record month for the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme, with 5,868 houses being retrofitted. In only 3 months of the scheme, more than 14,000 Kiwi homes have received assistance so that they are warmer, drier, and healthier.
Michael Woodhouse Link to this
How many houses lived in by residents with community services cards have been retrofitted under the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
I am very, very pleased to report to the House that of the 5,868 houses retrofitted in September, 65 percent were houses occupied by people on low incomes. Since the scheme started, over 60 percent of houses receiving insulation under the scheme have been occupied by people on low incomes.
Chris HipkinsCan the Minister confirm that homes insulated in September will have been insulated to a higher standard than homes insulated from 1 October because he has lowered the standards for approved providers to meet in order to insulate more homes for the same amount of money; does he not agree that subsidising heat pumps for poorly insulated homes could lead to greater energy inefficiency and thus defeat the purpose of the whole programme?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
No, because we have not done that and because someone cannot get the heating subsidy unless he or she passes the insulation test. What that member should do is stop listening to his mates, who are a bit grumpy about being booted off because they are hopeless providers, and start looking at the tough criteria laid down by this Government.
Rahui KateneWhat relationships has the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority developed with iwi in terms of their participation in the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme, and what actions will the authority take to increase the uptake of energy efficiency measures by Māori?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has developed partnerships with a number of iwi—
Mr SPEAKERHon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
The Speaker is an intelligent man. I certainly did not confuse him with Darren Hughes. However, Darren Hughes often confuses himself with the Speaker. I will start again. This is an important question.
Hon Darren Hughes Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I ask you to reflect on the way the Leader of the House is treating question time. If there is a bit of banter on a Thursday, that is fair enough. But this continual denigration of Parliament—[ Interruption]
Hon Darren Hughes Link to this
You often give us your observations about the standards and dignity of Parliament. You are very tough on Labour, naming Labour members and naming the Labour Party. But it seems that the Leader of the House is able to perform in this way when answering questions and there is no sanction on him at all.
I accept the intention of the point the member makes. I remind him, though, that he was the member who introduced the Speaker into the debate, through interjecting “you”. The honourable member was the very first person to do that, and the Minister answering the question responded with “you”. In fact, it was the member’s own interjection that initiated the disorder, and that is the difficulty.
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has developed a number of partnerships with iwi and is continuing to do so. An example is Ngaruru in South Taranaki, where some 240 houses will be insulated and iwi members will be trained and employed as insulators. Waikato-Tainui and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority have signed an agreement that will see 700 kaumātua homes retrofitted, and over the next short while the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority will be working with iwi and Māori groups to bring them onboard as service providers, as installers, and as third-party funders in the scheme. The House can look forward to a much larger announcement on this matter from the Minister of Māori Affairs in the next short while.
Will the Minister admit that the Government has lowered insulation standards by, among other things, requiring that homes previously fitted with foil underfloor insulation, which has been proven to be ineffective, will have the foil repaired rather than replaced with a more effective form of home insulation, and how does he square that with his answer just now that the standards have not been lowered?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
No, they have not been lowered, and if the member has examples of providers engaging in that practice—
Hon Ruth DysonHon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
No, with all due respect, he did not give me an example. He made an allegation. I am saying that if the member has examples of providers who are installing a level of insulation that is inferior to the one demanded by the Government, he should tell me, and they will no longer be providers.