Proposed changes to the Building Act have been defended by Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean after they came in for criticism at a Waitaki District Council meeting last week.
Mrs Dean said yesterday the changes were to save people seeking building consents time and money, "which had to be a good thing".
Waitaki councillors had criticised changes in the Building Amendment Act, which included proposed centralisation of building consent processing centres at central metropolitan sites.
Building consents are now dealt with within each local authority.
Under the proposal, district council involvement with consent matters would be reduced to mainly administration.
Mrs Dean said the Government in 2009 undertook a Building Act Review and found there remained heavy reliance on building consent authorities for building quality, as well as concerns about costs, complexity and delays in consent processes.
Change was also needed to get building professionals and trades people to take responsibility for the quality of their work and to stand behind it, she said.
Other proposals included the introduction of a risk-based approach as to how building consent and inspection requirements were administered so the role of the building consent authorities at each step was aligned with the risk involved.
"It more clearly signals the accountabilities of participants involved in building design and construction and will enhance accountability under the licensed building practitioners regime," Mrs Dean said.
The changes, asked for by tradesmen and the public, were to stop past bad practices and save time and money, she said.
