Page 971 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 31 March 1993
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of demand from people for insulation in ceilings. Once again I put that down to the fact that the Government has had an ongoing education campaign to the people of the ACT about the benefits of insulation and also, I think, the regulations that the Minister put forward to this house, I think, in early December and which came into being on 17 December. Amending the building code is the way to go.
What is important is that people be given the choice and that housing prices be kept to a reasonable level so that the widest possible range of people have the opportunity to buy or build their own home. Bringing in mandatory insulation in walls will begin to make people more conscious of the energy savings to be made. Once again, in summary, Madam Speaker, let us give the individual and the industry the responsibility and the opportunity to decide on the insulation issue before we, in one fell swoop, force housing prices up yet again and out of the reach of many Canberrans. As I said, education is an ongoing thing, and the Government needs to be congratulated on its education measures. I believe that the ACT has the best education program and the best building code regulations that there are in this country. I must admit that the intelligence and the awareness of the community in the ACT, based on the fine education program and the fine regulations which are put in place, will mean that the majority of people will eventually be putting in roof insulation anyway, when they can afford it.
MS SZUTY (11.45): Madam Speaker, I support Mr Moore's Building (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1992. It is unfortunate that I am the only member of this Assembly who seems to be supporting Mr Moore's initiatives on this matter. I am supporting the Bill on the ground that legislation of this kind is well overdue in Canberra. In 1977 the National Capital Development Commission identified the need for insulation in dwellings in its report "Low Energy House Design for Temperate Climates". That report demonstrated the best orientation for houses, which is a northern orientation, and detailed the measures needed to make ACT housing more energy efficient. These include measures to reduce heat loss through walls, floors and ceilings. The Government has drafted energy guidelines which include ratings for insulation materials recommended for floors, walls and ceilings.
Mr Moore, in his opening statement in presenting this Bill, described some of the heat loss, a loss which Canberrans living in dwellings with inadequate insulation pay dearly for each year. Energy costs are a major expenditure outlay for householders in the ACT - a fact that has been widely acknowledged by the Government. If we can make our housing more energy efficient at the construction stage, we take advantage of a window of opportunity to obtain future energy efficiency at the least cost.
Legislation which requires insulation to be installed in dwellings initially may, in fact, add to the cost of purchase for home buyers. However, it will reduce home buyers' ongoing costs in the future. Financing institutions also respond to the particular requirements of State and Territory governments, and property values in their areas of operation. I am sure that, by adding a few hundred dollars to a mortgage for such a worthwhile purpose, insulating homes to save money on fuel bills will, in the end, be also cost-efficient.
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