ROSA WOODS/Stuff
The most recent census found more than 300,000 New Zealand homes were always or sometimes damp.
An alliance of 22 organisations is calling on all political parties to prioritise a “pollution-busting home reno programme” for hundreds of thousands of New Zealand homes.
The alliance is made up of organisations from the business, health, sustainability, environmental, consumer, building and housing sectors, including Consumer NZ, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, eHaus, the Sustainable Business Network, Lawyers for Climate Action and the Green Building Council.
The groups have joined forces to ask all political parties to promise that, if part of the next government, they will take action to improve at least 200,000 homes.
In a joint statement on Monday, the alliance called on all parties to promise they would have, within six months of being elected, “a fully-funded, ambitious plan to roll out a pollution-busting home reno programme for at least 200,000 homes within nine years, which will slash carbon emissions and household bills, and improve the health of thousands of New Zealanders, young and old, and create tens of thousands of jobs”.
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The most recent census discovered more than 300,000 homes were always or sometimes damp, and more than 250,000 had visible mould larger than A4 size at least some of the time.
It also found Māori and Pasifika were more likely to live in homes affected by dampness or mould than other ethnic groups, with more than 40% living in damp housing.
Recent research showed ambitiously renovating New Zealand homes would make a fully renewable, fossil fuel-free electricity system easier and cheaper to achieve, by dramatically reducing electricity demand for heating, the alliance said.
It would also help alleviate the “dry year problem”, which occurs when New Zealand’s hydro-power catchments don’t receive enough rainfall or snow melt and storage lakes runs low. Backup is currently provided by fossil fuel generation.
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Green Building Council chief executive Andrew Eagles says the level of concern over housing is “staggering”. (File photo)
Green Building Council chief executive Andrew Eagles said the “large and formidable” alliance of organisations, and the breadth of issues they covered showed the “staggering” level of concern.
“These influential and diverse voices are now asking all political parties for solid action to improve hundreds of thousands of homes. Doing so would have huge benefits for New Zealanders – cutting household bills, improving health, slashing carbon pollution, and creating thousands of jobs, helping a just transition,” he said.
“This is just the beginning. We’re asking all organisations who want better homes for everyone in Aotearoa to add their voice to this growing coalition.”
STUFF
About 28,000 homes in New Zealand are always damp and always have visible mould, a report says.
Jon Iliffe of eHaus said there had never been a better time to future-proof against fuel poverty by lowering the amount of energy required in homes to stay healthy.
“There is no question that this is one of the best investments we can make for the benefit of all.”
Other organisations in the alliance are the New Zealand Institute of Building, Bayleys, Vector, JLL, Bunnings, Architectural Designers New Zealand, Sustainability Trust, Community Housing Aotearoa, the Insulation Association of New Zealand, Knauf Insulation, Beca, Community Energy Network, Passive House Institute New Zealand, SuperHome Movement, Inzide, Architectus and Professor Robyn Phipps.
Polling by Curia Market Research showed housing was the second most important voting issue for New Zealanders.
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