Sanity on earthquake risks

Chris Penk released:

The earthquake-prone building system will be refocused to reduce repair costs and reinvigorate communities, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. …

“Today, I am announcing a change to a fairer, risk-based system that will bring enormous relief by lowering costs for building owners, while keeping Kiwis safe.

“The Government is removing the New Building Standard (NBS) ratings currently used by engineers to determine whether a property is earthquake-prone.

“The NBS rates how an existing building is expected to perform in an earthquake compared to a new building and has proven too broad and inconsistent.

“A building’s overall risk status is determined by its weakest part, meaning even a small defect can result in an entire building being classified as earthquake-prone.

“The new earthquake-prone building (EPB) system will capture only buildings that pose a genuine risk to human life in medium and high seismic zones.

“This category includes concrete buildings three storeys or higher, and those constructed with unreinforced masonry.

“Auckland, Northland and the Chatham Islands will be removed from the regime entirely to reflect the low seismic risk in those areas.

This is massively good. I read somewhere that the costs of the current regulations exceed the benefits by a ration of 10:1. Martin Lally has calculated that the current regime values each life saved at $70 million, compared to the $12.5 million NZTA uses and $1.3 million Treasury uses.

Stuff reports:

Mayor Tory Whanau said the news was a “huge win” for Wellington.

“Many apartment and business owners simply cannot afford to upgrade their buildings to the current standards; you can see that reality in the empty buildings around town,“ Whanau said.

This is indeed huge for Wellington, but not just Wellington.

Luke Malpass writes:

The Government’s move to change standards around earthquake risk is both unexpectedly bold and long overdue.

It has gone further than most people expected — or wanted, depending on their interests. The previous Government, distracted by Covid and other crises, effectively parked the issue in the “too-hard” basket.

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has now scrapped the one-size-fits-all regime created in the legislative aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. Instead, he has targeted the rules more precisely, focusing on the parts of buildings most likely to pose a risk to life. …

The savings are enormous. As The Post exclusively reported this morning, more than $8 billion in remediation costs will be avoided — over half of that from Auckland’s removal alone.

Not many policy changes result is $8 billion of savings for property owners.

By the next election, these reforms — expected to be law by mid-next year — will stand among the Government’s most consequential achievements of the term.

They will, and surely at the next reshuffle Chris Penk must be moved into Cabinet. He is performing a reform agenda with skill that is the equal of most Cabinet front benchers.