$1b govt fund to insulate every NZ home
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The Government will establish a $1 billion fund to insulate every house in New Zealand as part of its flagship climate-change policy.
Details of the fund were announced yesterday by the Green Party, which hailed it as a major concession gained in return for its support for Labour's controversial emissions trading scheme (ETS).
The Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill has been on hold for months as the Government worked to secure the support of the Greens and New Zealand First.
With National opposed to rushing the bill through before this year's general election, the votes of the two smaller parties are essential for its passage.
With the Greens having thrown their weight behind it, the fate of the scheme now lies with NZ First.
Leader Winston Peters said yesterday he expected to announce the party's position in the next few days.
He claimed much of the credit for the insulation fund.
Greens co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said her party decided at yesterday's weekly caucus to support the scheme.
She said that in addition to the insulation fund, set up using money generated by the scheme, the legislation would provide a cash payout to households to help offset a rise in electricity costs.
Although the bill was flawed, it was better than nothing and the party's six MPs would be voting for it, Fitzsimons said.
"The truth is that if the whole world did what New Zealand is doing in this emissions trading scheme, then the world would fail because the action needed is a lot stronger than that," she said.
"However, on balance and given the very significant changes we have achieved, we have decided that it is better to make a start than to do nothing."
Prime Minister Helen Clark welcomed the decision. She said the legislation was now "poised for passage", and talks with NZ First were progressing well.
Fitzsimons said the insulation fund would be administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Board through a mixture of "straight-out grants" for low-income families and "heavily subsidised loans" for those with higher incomes.
She said there would be "a cash payment that is universal but differentiated" to help offset higher electricity prices from 2010.
She declined to give further details, indicating that it was a concession largely won by NZ First.
Peters refused to elaborate, saying details had yet to be finalised, but he described it as "a cost-of-living fund".
National opposes the bill, saying it is a rushed response to climate change that carries high economic risks.
Leader John Key said that if his party won the election it would develop its own scheme and introduce it within nine months of taking office.
"If the ETS passes before the election and National becomes the government, we will be changing the ETS to reflect our principles," he said.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Basically B,
You live in a cold flat - you are too wealthy for handouts.
You are whimpering that you can't get a handout, just wake up, the government isn't there to feather your nest - or anyone's nest. It NOT up to the government to look after your every whim and want. It will look after your basic "needs" if you get down (sacked, ill, accident), but it doesn't and never should look after those capable of looking after themselves.
You claim tho have had the initiative to do well at school. Good for you. Now, use that initiative to do something about your living conditions ... move to a new and better flat (you imply to us that you can afford it) ... by another jersey and wear that when at home in the evening.
You will probably find this "unreasonable". Well I grew up in the deep south. In a house with no insulation (few had insulation in the 50s) and we had one fire-place. We burned Kaitangata coal (not the hottest!) and wood which my father and brothers felled, cut, split and stacked each spring. There were two warm rooms, the livingroom and the kitchen; the bedrooms were unheated and often had ice on the INSIDE of the glass in winter. Hot water-bottles were all we had to pre-warm the beds.
These things were quite normal then. We wore two jerseys and two pairs of socks. I don't want to return to those conditions, things have improved - insulation being one of the improvements. But we did everything since, for ourselves, no bleating to the government for handouts; no whingeing when our taxes were spent to help those less able than ourselves.
Get up, young man; step up to scratch; DO something about it; a second job; (my elder brother worked a ten hour day and also studied at night (and it was cold, remember), and gained a qualification as an accountant.
Above all, stop this pernicious, jealous - beggar-my-neighbour ethos you appear to have. Don't let that chip on your shoulder become a log!
Our houses are substandardly warmed and insulated compared to European and American housing but I am just wondering what onus this new Nanny State Rule will put on private individuals and what quality of work will be done. I am hoping we do not have to rip our houses to shreds just to satisfy some government whim to curb energy costs. If it involves some simple insulation in the attic and some underfloor insulation like polystyrene then it should be good. However if it involves us spending large amounts of money to conform to some damned unrealistic standard i would be unwilling to submit to such a scheme. I would regard it as just another interference in our private lives by an overbearing government. The other worry to this is the quality of workmanship aspect. If you are undertaking to insulate every home in New Zealand then this is a massive task and what cowboys will the government (who will want to do everything on the cheap as always) contract?? So in summary ..this sounds interesting but supply us the details and make sure it is sensible and of good quality.
@ Brian Lochore...............
Priceless
About bloody time! I'm originally from Europe and the state of housing in New Zealand is simply appaling. Way below standards, especially when compared to other Western countries. Kiwi's may think they're being too cool for school when saying 'harden up'but it's no wonder that so many people in NZ suffer from illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis.
The government has been running a scheme through some regional agencies very similar to what they are propsing to do nationwide. In the Hutt Valley the scheme is run through EnergySmart/Energy Wise.
As a single mother on one income I applied to this agency to have my house insulated with under floor "paper" and topping up my pink batts. I found that because I earn too much to get a community services card (between my salary and working for families tax credits I earn $2000 above my "allocated" threashold for a card), I wasnt eligable for the funding but they could offer me instead the insulation installed for $3000 (a discounted rate). Tell me how as a single mother i am supposed to find this sort of money.
If the government is serious about helping out low income families then they need to look at those of us on the fringes too.
BTW I am not a single mother because I want to be, I am a single mother because my ex had an affair and decided he didnt want to stay married to me anymore or to be a full time father to his children.
New Zealanders have been living with their heads in the clouds for decades when it comes to the climate of the country. When many of our ancestors left Europe they seem to have left common sense behind in their belief that they were relocating to paradise - unfortunately that's not true of the weather. Big windows and wooden houses make for cold dwellings, the one thing that would make the biggest difference to NZ houses apart from insualtion would be double glazing. The cost is off-set by the years of reduced heating bills that follow installation, and it's lower maintenacne and quieter too. Hopefully the government is going to promote some forward thnking in the population with it's insulation plans and we'll all wake up and see the benefits in the long term.
So, if you work hard to make decent money, you are punished by the government yet again. For those of us who have saved the money to insulate our houses only the lazy people will benefit from this. One more reason to leave New Zealand until it can become more capitalistic. Oh, and prisoners are not happy with their food can we help them too and waste some more money!
So, if you work hard to make decent money, you are punished by the government yet again. For those of us who have saved the money to insulate our houses only the lazy people will benefit from this. One more reason to leave New Zealand until it can become more capitalistic. Oh, and prisoners are not happy with their food can we help them too and waste some more money!
It's about time something was done about our awful housing in this country. Our houses are not prepared for the cold at all, it's so damp and horrible.
But the govt shouldn't pay more for beneficiaries etc, it should be the same amount paid for every house that needs insulation. I'm poor but I save as much money as I can, and I don't think those on benefits etc should be favoured over others. It should be equal, because a lot of middle-class NZers can't afford insulation on their own either.
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if you have so much damn money why cant u afford to insulate your home yourself...? yes just coz u make a lot of money doesnt mean u have the brains to spend it wisely BUT if ur that worried about your health stop wasting your money and use it better! this bill is a god send for the elderly especially. cant you see past your own selfish needs and see that atleast!