Govt urges overhaul of building regulations

Press, 16 February 1982, Page 26

Govt urges overhaul of building regulations

PA Wellington The Government has urged an overhaul of building control regulations, asking that constraints on : citizens be kept to the absolute minimum. A building controls forum at Victoria University has been told by the Minister of Local . Government (Mr Highet) that the time has come to take a new approach. “Over recent years the Government has become more and more concerned about the growing volume of criticism, confusion and dissatisfaction with building controls in this country.” It was time to "ask ourselves if all existing regulations are necessary dr desir-

able today if we are really facing up to modernday heeds, or still regulating for the nineteenth century," Mr Highet said. “I will be disappointed if you are unable to suggest a general framework within which a total revision of the methods of building control and the contests of control documents can be made,” he told the forum. Building interests from the private sector and central 1 and local government are represented at the two-day forum, and several Australians are also attending. Mr Highet said the factors he wanted the forum to consider when reframing building control mechanisms and the controls themselves were:

® The general economic effects of controls. ® The need to provide flexibility to meet differing needs in different areas. • The .need to preserve a reasonable degree of freedom of action on the part of the user. ® To have regard to the minimum standards necessary to reasonably’ provide for health and safety. © The extent to which responsibility and accountability for the setting and application of reasonable standards should be in the hands of members of professional and technical organisations and to have regard to requirements that can reasonably be expected to be applied by organisations and agencies working in the planning field, in the insurance industry, and in law.