The building design industry is having to react to an abrupt proposal to scrap mandatory energy ratings for new homes in Victoria, ditching the 6-star thermal efficiency rules in favour of a voluntary code. Building product industry member Edith Paarhammer comments.

Living in caves - The cutting of Red Tape

A government proposal wants to abandon 6-star thermal efficiency requirements for houses. In an effort to cut red tape the Victorian government has plans to remove the 6-star standard in Victoria.

What does red tape mean other than that builders are compelled to use better building practices and better materials?

The BDAV Building Designers of Australia have yearly competitions to design 10-star rated buildings. All building materials are available in Australia to achieve up to 10 stars.

The window industry has geared up over the past few years to cope with 6 star rated buildings and beyond. This government backflip is a slap in the face for everyone in the building industry who has been innovative and has invested to be on par with government regulations and developments or even ahead of them.

What does this backflip do to our environment? Australia’s built environment will get worse rather than better and become more like a third world country in its performance. Climate change challenges, carbon reduction etc is left by the wayside.

The government does have regulations on cars and emissions and this has helped to build much better, more efficient and less polluting cars now than we had in the 80s. They now compare with the best cars in the world.

So why this backflip when it comes to buildings? Who is behind this idea, who is a winner if we build bad housing stock? Surely not end consumers who will forever have to pay higher energy bills. Surely not architects and designers either, if they want to compare their work on a world stage as the rest of the world is moving further and further towards sustainable and energy efficient building practices.

Common sense seems to have gone missing in the Victorian government. We may as well go back to living in caves; now that would cut a lot of Red Tape.

Edith Paarhammer is from Australia windows and doors company Paarhammer.