1. Dr CAM CALDER (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Energy and Resources
How many houses have been insulated through the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation scheme?
Hon Darren Hughes
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
There is some truth in that. I am pleased to advise the House that the first year of the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand scheme has been extraordinarily successful. A grand total of 57,908 homes were retro-fitted in the first year of the scheme. What is most pleasing is that around 55 percent of the houses retro-fitted are occupied by people on low incomes. I acknowledge the cooperation of the Green Party in the administration of this policy.
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
The Government has funded the Warm Up New Zealand scheme because of the benefits that a well-insulated home has to the individuals who live in it, to society, and to the New Zealand economy on a wider scale. The Warm Up New Zealand scheme improves a home’s energy efficiency, but, more important, it makes it warmer and much healthier to live in. That means fewer doctors’ visits, fewer days off school, and less time off work. The scheme has also been a welcome stimulus for the construction industry during an economic downturn.
Chris HipkinsIn what proportion of those houses were quality or safety issues found with the insulation during the audit process?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
Over the course of the last 12 months, the incidence of safety issues has been on the decline. I am more than happy to release the entire audit figures to the member, as I previously had. The most recent incidence of safety issues, I understand, is less than 1 percent. Those, of course, were all rectified, because the installers were required to go back over all of their work when one of those instances was discovered.
Why should the public of New Zealand have any confidence in the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme when the audit found that one-third of the homes insulated had quality concerns?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
A quality concern may mean that there was rubbish left on the site. It may mean that some instructions were not left with a heating appliance. It may mean that in some cases they could not get in to install insulation because the gap was too narrow—I should not talk about narrowing gaps this week. I say to the member that I think that 57,908 retrofits indicates a very high level of public confidence in the scheme.