Kerre Woodham: Access to electricity is a basic human right

If you woke up this morning and you turned on the heater because it was a bit chilly, not as chilly as it has been, but a bit chilly, good for you. Did you think about the cost? If you didn’t, lucky you.

An estimated 40,000 New Zealand households had their power cut due to unpaid bills in 2023, which is a phenomenal number of households. One in five had trouble paying their monthly power bill and this is at a time when the “big four” power companies are earning more than $7 million every day while some households struggle to heat their homes.

Kate Hawkesby: Are heating and cooling standards for landlords over the top?

 

Well we might have some cities like Christchurch basking in 35-degree heat today, but it's not quite the 40 degrees that some Sydneysiders are baking in.

Some NSW homes so hot, residents can barely cool them down, especially those on low incomes.

One resident was quoted as saying she ‘dreaded summer’ and had to wrap herself in a damp towel with ice cubes just to cool down. Which made me think about our new ventilation and insulation rules coming in here shortly for landlords.

Mike Butler: ‘Damp rental’ beliefs rubbished

Fewer than 3 percent of tenants find their homes cold and damp, the World Health Organisation did not recommend a healthy temperature, and client-friendly research helped understate the costs of heating and insulation proposals for rental property, according to a discussion document released today.

Iconoclastic economist Ian Harrison of Tailrisk Economics has taken aim at the cherished beliefs of Housing Minister Phil Twyford in a discussion document titled The proposed Healthy Homes Regulations: An Assessment.

Twyford is finalising a series of standards for New Zealand’s 588,700 rental properties on heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and draught-proofing under the so-called Healthy Homes Guarantee Act that was passed last December.