\u201cReasonable changes to update our inadequate Building Code, cutting red tape for energy-efficient investments and improving information requirements when buying or leasing property will all make a big difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cModest expenditure on financial support and subsidies for heat pumps, rooftop solar and Government building to a higher standard will improve our resilience and help save billions for Kiwi families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other proposals include faster consenting for energy-efficient homes and energy labels on buildings so people can see which ones are energy efficient.<\/p>\n
The manifesto also includes a wish for better access to rooftop solar and batteries through the introduction of low or zero-interest loans.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spoke on Wednesday about the importance of energy security and independence in his first pre-Budget speech<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand\u2019s energy vulnerability is no longer a theoretical risk, it\u2019s a live crisis on full display in the Strait of Hormuz every single day,\u201d Luxon said to a Business New Zealand-hosted lunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the rough and tumble impact of globalisation, because on too many occasions, private capital, eager to bolster domestic energy production, has been pushed to the sidelines by overzealous planners and politicians in recent years. <\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral high-profile projects are now getting underway thanks to our reforms like fast track, which I expect will continue to grow in popularity, by leaps and bounds, but the reality is that when faced with energy shock after energy shock, it\u2019s very hard to justify backing the skink over the solar farm. <\/p>\n
\u201cEnergy independence must be treated as an immediate national security interest instead of a contributing factor to a long-term climate strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has told business leaders that repeated energy shocks “make it hard to justify backing the skink over the solar farm”. <\/p>\n
Eagles urged all political parties to read the manifesto as they kicked off their election campaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the tech, the knowledge and the evidence is all here \u2013 what New Zealand needs now is the political will.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not expensive or radical changes,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese measures cut power bills, reduce pressure on energy prices, free up energy for productive industries, improve resilience and deliver healthier, more comfortable buildings. They have been adopted in most OECD countries\u201d<\/p>\n
The manifesto is backed by the New Zealand Construction Industry Council (NZCIC), which represents 70% of workers in the construction sector. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe particularly support cutting red tape for investment in energy-efficient homes and buildings \u2013 this has never been more important given the global energy situation,\u201d NZCIC executive director Tommy Honey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsenting must be quicker and it should make it easier for homes to be built to energy-efficient standards. We call on the Government (itself responsible for more than a quarter of all construction in New Zealand) to be a responsible client and lead the way to a smarter and more energy efficient built environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Green Building Council has shared the manifesto with all political parties as it seeks a bipartisan approach to the issue.<\/p>\n
Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cReasonable changes to update our inadequate Building Code, cutting red tape for energy-efficient investments and improving information requirements…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[95,23607,26695,43700,674,138,5842,9274,10709,5205,1667,182929,2082,2518,3191,10527,2513,111,139,69,10057,32257,15400,54620,37400,2437,26213,4166,63559,7563,61],"class_list":["post-426083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-and","tag-approach","tag-bills","tag-bipartisan","tag-building","tag-business","tag-calling","tag-cheap","tag-concerns","tag-council","tag-energy","tag-escalate","tag-for","tag-green","tag-heat","tag-loans","tag-lower","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-problems","tag-pump","tag-push","tag-rebates","tag-rooftop","tag-security","tag-soar","tag-solar","tag-solve","tag-those","tag-to"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}