A view looking east from the roof of the Beehive including the original wooden Government Buildings (now the Victoria University of Wellington Law School). Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Plans to scrap the requirement for new government buildings to reach a five star sustainability rating are retrograde and will see a race to the bottom according to the Green Building Council.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced a raft of rules to be scrapped - including the requirement to pay the living wage to cleaning, security, and catering services to government agencies. She says the changes will make it easier for New Zealand businesses to access government contracts collectively worth $50b a year.
Under the proposals, new non-residential government buildings will not have to be built to a five-star rating standard, government agencies will not have to purchase recyclable office supplies, and nor will agencies be required to buy EV or Hybrid vehicles.
Andrew Eagles is the Chief Executive of the Green Building Council. Kathryn also speaks with Canterbury sheep farmer, Angela Blair whose petition calling for Government buildings to be fitted out exclusively with wool carpets got 11,000 signatures. She's worried the changes will see cheap synthetic imported carpets favoured instead of wool.
