Property Council’s Advocacy Team are back on deck – with two submissions already on the go.
Resource Management
The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill will make it optional for councils to implement the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS). The Bill also seeks to make amendments to natural hazards by reinforcing council’s ability to decline land use consents or impose conditions when significant natural hazards are present. The new natural hazard provisions will take immediate legal effect.
Property Council’s submission will support the direction of the Bill, but request that councils complete plan changes as soon as possible with no further extensions being granted. We support the Bill’s Streamlined Planning Process (SPP) as a mechanism to make MDRS decisions and more quickly provide certainty for the property sector. We also share concerns around natural hazards taking immediate effect and the impact this may have on development.
Insulation
The Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) are consulting on insulation requirements in housing and other buildings – H1 Energy Efficiency requirements. There are three current methods used to see if a building meets the H1 requirements under the Building Code:
- Schedule Method – a ‘one size fits all’ perspective table of insulation values.
- The Calculation Method – a semi-flexible range of insulation values that can be ‘mixed and matched’ to suit the design.
- Modelling Method – a fully flexible insulation design based on computer simulation of energy efficiency.
MBIEs consultation is designed to understand what adjustments could be made to these models to improve flexibility, upfront costs and long-term benefits. MBIE also want to understand the needs of the building design sector to improve the management of internal moisture and overheating risks in buildings.
If you would like to review a copy of Property Council’s draft submissions or to find out more, please contact Senior Advocacy Advisor, Sandamali Ambepitiya, Sandamali@propertynz.co.nz.
NZGBC consultation on fitouts
The New Zealand Green Building Council are consulting on their development into a new standard for fitouts. The consultation is open until 30 January, and we encourage our members to submit. To find out more click here.
Stakeholder engagements
The Property Council Advocacy Team have had great engagement with 336 stakeholder engagements. Of which 43 were with Ministers, 92 with MPs and 25 with Mayors or Councillors.
Next month, we are preparing to host the New Zealand First Caucus at our Industry Leaders meeting to discuss consenting, RMA, infrastructure and funding and financing.
Recent submissions
- Submission on the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission’s ‘Testing our thinking: Developing an enduring National Infrastructure Plan’ discussion paper
- Submission on the draft Ōtautahi Christchurch Future Transport strategy 2024-54
- Submission on Auckland Council’s Draft Southern Rural Strategy
- Submission on increasing the use of remote inspections in the building consent process
- Submission Auckland Council’s Draft Contributions Policy 2025
- Building (Overseas Building Products, Standards, and Certification Schemes) Amendment Bill