The Minister for Building and Construction is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the government's building, construction and housing programmes. The position was established in 2004 as the Minister for Building Issues. The present Minister is

Megan Woods Megan Cherie Woods (born 4 November 1973) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who serves as a Cabinet Minister in the Sixth Labour Government and has served as Member of Parliament for Wigram since 2011. Early life Woods was born and gre ...

, a member of the Labour Party.

Responsibilities and powers

The minister's responsibilities include the regulation of the building and construction sector, including setting the performance requirements for buildings and building products. The portfolio is administered by the

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE; mi, Hīkina Whakatutuki) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with "delivering policy, services, advice and regulation" which contribute to New Zealand's economic p ...

. The primary legislation for the portfolio is the

Building Act 2004 A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

, which sets out the rules for the construction, alteration, demolition and maintenance of new and existing buildings in New Zealand. The minister also oversees the regulation of engineers, plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers and architects.

History

In 2004, following its 2003 review of the housing sector amid the

leaky homes crisis The leaky homes crisis is an ongoing construction and legal crisis in New Zealand concerning timber-framed homes built from 1988 to 2004 that were not fully weather-tight. The problems often include the decay of timber framing which, in extreme ...

, the

Fifth Labour Government The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance Party. While undertaking ...

announced plans to reconfigure government services related to building and housing. A new

Department of Building and Housing The Department of Building and Housing (Māori: ''Te Tari Kaupapa Whare'') was a government agency within the New Zealand government. Established in 2004 out of the former Ministry of Housing, it was disestablished in 2012. The department's forme ...

was created by disestablishing the existing Ministry of Housing and transferring relevant functions from the Ministry of Economic Development,

Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), or in te reo Māori, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling law ...

and Ministry of Social Development. The new agency was to report to two Ministers: the Minister of Housing (an existing role) and the new Minister of Building Issues. It had been suggested that

John Tamihere John Henry Tamihere (born 8 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician, media personality, and political commentator. He was member of Parliament from 1999 to 2005, including serving as a Cabinet minister in the Labour Party from August 2002 to ...

, an Associate Minister of Commerce who had overseen the passage of the Building Act 2004, would be named Building Minister; however, he resigned from Cabinet in October 2004 and Commerce Minister

Margaret Wilson Margaret Anne Wilson (born 20 May 1947) is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008, during the Fifth L ...

was named the inaugural Minister of Building Issues instead. The portfolio was renamed Minister of Building and Construction in 2007. In 2014, it was amalgamated with the housing portfolio (as Minister of Building and Housing); this was reversed in 2016 with housing responsibility now sitting with the

Minister for Social Housing The Minister of Housing is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the government's house-building programme. The position was established in 1938 as Minister in charge of Housing, and has most commonly been known a ...

List of Ministers

;Key Table footnotes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minister for Building and Construction Building and Construction Public housing Housing in New Zealand