*ARCHIVE* - Media Statement - 22 Nov 2002
The Building Industry Authority strongly rejects reported allegations made today by Mr Greg O'Sullivan on National Radio that the Authority has failed to show leadership in dealing with the leaky buildings issue, BIA Chief Executive Bill Porteous said today.
"The BIA has actively pursued a range of opportunities to investigate the cause and extent of the problem and is now actively pursuing solutions to prevent the problems from re-occurring in the future.
"Yes, Mr O'Sullivan and his brother have informed us over a period of time about their concerns and other anecdotal evidence also emerged. On the strength of that anecdotal evidence the BIA participated in the Weathertight Buildings Steering Group, which was set up to get to the bottom of the problem.
"When it became apparent that group was not making sufficient progress the Authority began a process (in August 2001) that led to the formation of the Weathertightness Overview Group and the Hunn report - which has been a watershed in this issue.
Dr Porteous also said that in hindsight it was easy to conclude the BIA ought to have informed the Minister earlier of its concerns regarding leaky buildings.
"But regardless of that fact the BIA was taking every reasonable measure to understand and deal with the problem. I do not believe that we would have done anything differently had the Minister known that we were investigating anecdotes that suggested a problem, and I have yet to hear any serious suggestion to the contrary.
"You cannot take action on a complex problem like this without having made an attempt to properly understand its nature.
"Bear in mind also that Mr O'Sullivan's company alerted us to just two problem houses in 2001 - against the backdrop of more than 25,000 new houses being built every year. It would have been irresponsible for the BIA to have created public alarm and destroyed the value of all many people's homes on the basis of limited evidence.
"There was no corroborating evidence emerging, for instance, from territorial local authorities who, it might be expected, would have been in a very strong position to have identified problems.
"The appropriate action was to seek an independent investigation of the alleged problem and that is exactly what we did and we continued to take appropriate action.
"As soon as Don Hunn's group alerted us to the balcony hazard, we issued a public warning and advertised the danger extensively.
"As soon as Mr Hunn's interim and full reports were received, we released them. We immediately held a summit with representatives of the entire industry to discuss the way forward. Mr O'Sullivan's allegation of a lack of leadership rings hollow since he was at that summit.
"The Authority has, for the last 18 months, acted to seek information, consult and inform the public, industry and local government about this issue to resolve a complex and serious issue as quickly and appropriately as possible," said Mr Porteous.