19256 (2025). Tamatha Paul to the Minister of Housing

19256 (2025). Tamatha Paul to the Minister of Housing: Does the new Kāinga Ora plan integrate climate resilience and energy efficiency standards into new builds and retrofits; if so, how; if not, why?

Hon Chris Bishop: The Kāinga Ora Turnaround Plan has a focus on reducing build costs. Up until November 2023 Kāinga Ora was building homes to Homestar 6 (Version 4) standards and having those homes accredited by the Green Building Council. This standard was above building code, notably in relation to insulation standards. When new Building Code standards (H1 energy efficiency) were introduced in November 2023, this brought the building code to or beyond the prevailing Homestar (version 4) standard. The Green Building Council subsequently established a new version of Homestar 6 (Version 5) which introduced additional requirements and brought it beyond the new Building Code. Kāinga Ora opted not to move to this standard, but to rely on the new building code. This is estimated to save between an average of $2,300 - $6,000 per new build. Through its existing Retrofit Programme, Kāinga Ora does focus on improving the thermal performance of homes through upgrades to floor, external wall and ceiling insulation, double glazing and the replacement of major components such as roofs and cladding where needed. The Kāinga Ora Turnaround Plan also includes a specific provision to divest Kāinga Ora owned land that is particularly susceptible to flood risks, to reduce its overall exposure.