After the Gib crisis: Megan Woods forms new critical materials taskforce
Building and Construction Minister Megan Woods has announced that a new critical materials taskforce is being formed, partly in response to the Gib crisis.
The taskforce will include sector leaders from the Government’s plasterboard investigation group, established in June.
But it will also incorporate experts covering smaller operations, design, consenting, products and procurement matters.
Woods said the focus would be on trying to maximise productivity and cushioning businesses from supply chain risks, giving guidance, data and information to help builders, designers and business owners.
Great work Minister Woods, now do drainage!
Frustration inside the drainage industry has reached boiling point recently with anti competitive practices and crony capitalism that would make your average South American Drug Cartels blush.
Justice for Drainage is a new push from those in the independent drainage community to highlight the manner in which the industry is dictated to by a duopoly which in turn is pushing up the housing costs to first time home buyers, councils and state housing…
Justice for Drains has put out a Poll to the private drainage contractor community and 99% claim costs are too high, 100% want an investigation into the duopoly practices that keep prices high and 99% want the Government to step in.
We never consider the costs of drainage and how a duopoly within the industry keeps these costs high and are ultimately inflating costs for Councils, home buyers and State housing!
Here were anonymous quotes from those in the industry who wish to remain anonymous because they fear reprisals from the duopoly players.
“We can only finish jobs with the support of the Independent Companies. The Big player charges double”
“Increasing costs we have to pass on to our clients”
“Getting uneasy handing our prices to customers.. Really feel for our customers as this is another cost of living increase that they dont need.”
“Investigate the other companies Hynds own to block competition.”
“Competitive pricing wont exist until the company Split up.”
“No competition / Not Fair for people who live in NZ”
“Pricing controlled by the Big Guys”
“Tax payers foot the bill for everything!”
“Bloody Horrible”
“I have to pass these costs on to the NZ Public who is bearing the excess pricing again!”
“Just like the Supermarket Rip OFF”
“PRICE GOUGING FOR YEARS”
“Hynds and Humes have been over pricing products for 20+ years.”
…time and time and time again in New Zealand we see an old boy matrix of vested interests who occupy market dominance and act like a monopoly, duopoly or oligopoly raking in vast wealth while leaving the local small and medium sized operators outside the cosy relationships!
Up and down NZ, small and medium enterprises are unable to compete because of the lack of basic regulation in the market!
We’ve seen it with the Supermarket duopoly, the medicinal cannabis oligopoly, the Gib Board monopoly – each time under regulated and poorly regulated capitalism continues to screw over us the consumers at a time of a cost of living crisis!
Pricing distortions in the Drainage Wholesale market are being caused by an effective duopoly which is curing enormous costs for everyone building.
Minister, I’m not looking for socialism, just basic regulated capitalism!
The Government could help by insisting 15-20% of Drainage Supplies to Kāinaga Ora be independent drainage suppliers.
This industry structure requires urgent investigation.
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megan and her team are on the case….well that’s comforting
Woods consults Labour Government playbook sets up a taskforce, job done.
Bob, the perfect person to cure insomnia.
Well it’s a start.
Creepy and NATCCP would have simply shrugged their shoulders, and been comfortable with it.
Now,now Bruce you know that’s how the current Labour Government operates.
Five years nothing accomplished.
I know. 5 years and they still haven’t reversed 9 years of NATCCP neglect.
Maybe and term or two might see better end results
It’ll need to be a broader investigation than just into dry board.
The cost of building an average family home in NZ cf other comparable nations is a scandal.
Building codes and local bodies constantly push construction solutions and materials based on product produced by the big cartels. Try to approach your project in any other manner outside the producer approved cookie cutter (including building methods time tested over centuries ) and you are in for grief and unnecessary extra expense. In recent years (probably still) builders have had to regularly maintain building licences by attending courses to keep them up to date with industry methodology. At such they were bombarded by industry promotions and product endorsements.
I’ve often wondered, is there any solid justification for new home construction costs to track housing market inflation?
Why are ministers having to clean up messes the Commerce Commission are legislatively supposed to prevent and deal to?
Time and again these monopolies or duopolies turn feral and everyone is surprised, while the Commerce Commission sits dumbly by doing nothing. And these businesses seem to become dominant players with incredible ease without oversight.
How about a task force to ensure the ComCom is doing its job?
Minister Woods?
Don’t hold your breath.
More Bob insomnia quotes.
He’s a gem isn’t he MHK? Our very own TDB village idiot, aw bless
Look on the good side though when he bobs up, it tends to stir the waters and convinces people to have something to say.
indeed sometimes you have to wonder what they are for.
as my auntie used to say ‘they’re neither use nor ornament’
I think you’ll find regulation favours corporations. This seems to be a left wing blind spot. If you increase costs and obligations on business it invariably is felt most by the smaller players
example, actual example not opinion of your assertion….bear in mind our cartels were encouraged by the nats(true LINO has done nothing about it)…await your your witty retort panzerboi.
would that be the small players that have to pay whatever the cartel says…those small players panzerboi.
At this stage in the political cycle. I’d say bugga all is going to happen, get done because LINO is Dog Tucker.
Megs needs to try and finish something that she has already started?? That will be hard because it’ll probably need another committee to be set up to figure out which project is likely to be successful.
More regulations puts prices up.
Show me ONE government regulated industry where prices have gone down!!!!
How about less regulation.
Like the GIB board problem. Let individuals import what they want, rather than have regulators stop that by imposing self serving regulations.
So why Cant Kiwis import Gib from Countries that have GIB standards albeit they are not identical to ours.
Same with Nurses, why all the regulation and restrictions.
Of course your false but oft trotted out Supermarket duopoly BS.
Regulate that until prices go UP!!!!
humph
Well Ra, we do need standards and regulations even if you personally find them tiresome, leaky buildings come to mind, we need housing supply standards ( although a monopoly is not good ). We certainly need standards for nurses and doctors, fake psychiatrists come to mind. There is enough complaining about nurses and their immigration status, the word safety comes to mind , can you imagine if a whole lot of fake nurses and doctors were given fast tracking to residency without checks and balances what it would do to the health system and their recipients the patients.
I have worked on a site where it was either Indian or Vietnamese drywall was used. I think that in about 5 – 10 years, the walls will all have to be torn out. The quality was pretty poor. The plasterer really earned his money.
The idea that foreign companies that are not beholden to NZ laws and regulations can then send any old shit to NZ without repercussions is frankly, well, shit. Think James Hardy and the billions that we as tax payers have forked out.
Our current regulations are in place because of deregulation.
Go Ra.
show me a privatised govt function that is now cheaper/better or more efficient ra
Try and say “megan woods is going to sort it out” without bursting into laughter.
Yes I don’t know why exactly but whenever I see that Megan Woods is going to do something I start laughing.
@ TS. I know! It’s like saying ” I’m voting for david seymour of ACT. You’ll always know where you are with Dave the Oily.
A socialist model built into capitalism gave us the infrastructure roger douglas’s ‘privatisation’s have destroyed. Every single ‘thing’ roger’s moustache touched is fucked. Everything. Unless, of course, you’re one of the wonderful like tremendous, handsome, globe trotting, hyper riche, super boat owning panel beater and liquidator of public assets bought at below capital value.
Stuff
“Graeme Hart, NZ’s richest man, makes $3.4b during Covid-19 pandemic”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124046498/graeme-hart-nzs-richest-man-makes-34b-during-covid19-pandemic?utm_source=pocket_reader
Imagine the outcry if a struggling family stole a shopping trolly load of groceries off Foodstuffs?
This is a great little documentary by a builder fellow in Wellington.
YouTube:
Josh Chapman.
“Who’s Got All NZ’s GIB Plasterboard?? ”
Let’s talk about the gib situation here in NZ and how it’s affecting small businesses.
https://youtu.be/vmXM7rL_Zhc
Ok. Who makes Gib board? Answer: Winstones. Who owns Winstones? Fletcher Challenge.
Who is/are Fletcher Challenge? Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Challenge
“The corporation was formed in January 1981 with the mutual merger of Challenge Corporation, Fletcher Holdings and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It was initially based in Wellington’s Challenge House,[1] but later moved in 1987 to a new head office in Penrose, Auckland. ”
“The rise and fall of Fletcher Challenge and some of the principal personalities involved, including Hugh Fletcher and Sir Ronald Trotter is described in the book Battle of the Titans by Bruce Wallace.”
‘Battle of The Titans’ my hairy arse. Battle of a couple of old crooks with a complete lack of conscience on their side to aid and abet them in ripping us off, more like.
Subsidiary companies:
Australian Newsprint Mills
Blandin Paper Co
Cape Horn Methanol Ltd – bought 1991[4]
Cemac (Hong Kong) Ltd – founded 1971 now in Fletcher Building
Challenge Deer Ltd
Challenge Livestock Ltd
Challenge Properties Ltd – joint venture[5]
Challenge Realty Ltd – formed 1994 as franchise name[6]
Challenge Seeds Ltd 1987-1994[7]
Challenge Wool Ltd
Crown Paper Co Ltd
Dinwiddie Construction Co
Firth Industries Ltd
Fletcher Challenge Canada Ltd
Fletcher Challenge Methanol Ltd
Fletcher Challenge Petroleum Ltd
Fletcher Construction Australia Ltd
Fletcher Construction Co Ltd
Fletcher Construction Group Ltd
Fletcher Development & Construction Co Ltd
Fletcher Homes Ltd
Fletcher Merchants Ltd
Fletcher Pacific Construction Co Ltd
Fletcher Panel Industries Ltd
Fletcher Steel Sector
Golden Bay Cement Co Ltd
Jennings Group Ltd
Pacific Coilcoaters Ltd
Pacific Steel Ltd
Petralgas Chemicals NZ Ltd 1980-2005[8]
Petroleum Corporation of New Zealand Ltd
Pisa-Papel de Imprensa SA
Placemakers Ltd
Rural Bank
Tasman Asia Shipping Co Ltd
Tasman Chile SA
Tasman Forestry Ltd
Tasman Lumber Co Ltd
Tasman Pulp & Paper
The Rural Bank Ltd
UK Paper plc
William Guppy & Son Ltd
Winstone Aggregates Ltd
Winstone Industries Ltd
Wiremakers Ltd
Wright Schuchart Inc
Wrightson
Wrightson Bloodstock Ltd
Wrightson NMA Ltd
A convicted pervert and a dodgy sociopathic egomaniac own us all. We’re their Bitches. That, is why, on a country larger than the UK but with only five million people which grows food as a primary industry we have poverty, homelessness and hungry kids living in cars with their mums and dads.
Got the picture yet?
Sigh. You’ve got to be in to win. Obviously if ‘they’ have achieved this we all could if we just pulled finger. That’s what gets fed out. But it makes one fed up when you realise that they have taken us into a version of the 1960’s so we are blinded to what the 2020’s need to achieve if we even knew about it.
I have to be careful what I say to family at Christmas because they are good and deep in the 20th century values and goals. But the bus left without us and now we save money on transport by running behind the bus. That always struck me as a silly and funny joke; of course you can save more money by running behind a taxi. Got to larf don’cha.
Save heaps more running behind a taxi.
It’s similar to the Labour Government’s economic plan.