How does the government Budget work and what does that mean for you?
Māori housing is one of the big winners in the Budget, with the Government allocating with $380 million of the $1 billion-plus spending for Māori on building 1000 new warm, dry homes. Recognising that Māori “were far less likely to own their own home,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson said on Thursday it was the government s responsibility to address this “inequity”. The housing spend was in addition to $350m ring-fenced for Māori from the government s Housing Acceleration Fund, aimed at supporting Māori and iwi providers to build homes for whānau.
Green Building: Cutting carbon-embodied emissions
5 May, 2021 05:00 PM
3 minutes to read
By: Graham Skellern
Warren and Mahoney has launched a three-year PhD study to produce a framework for reducing carbon emissions in the design of buildings.
The thesis is titled: Starting a new paragraph in designing low carbon architecture in New Zealand.
Fiona Short, associate principal with Warren and Mahoney, said if we are to reach our climate change targets in New Zealand and internationally, we need to understand the full picture of embodied carbon in buildings (emissions associated with building materials such as steel, concrete and carpet). At present the industry focus is on operational carbon use, but as our buildings become more energy efficient the carbon emitted to create the materials becomes more important.
Kate Jensen at the Dwellington Hostel, where she lives in a shared bedroom.
In March 2018, homeownership was at its lowest in almost 70 years. Since then the median price has almost doubled and rent is up by a quarter. Stuff’s
Off the Ladder series talks to those priced out of the market. When Kate Jensen, 58, goes to sleep at night, she may wake up to seven new faces in her bedroom. The marketing honours student has called an upmarket hostel home for more than a month and is in no rush to put her name on a flat lease.
ROSA WOODS/Stuff
Dan Saunders Construction/Haven
Solar panels and prefabricated insulated wall panels are just two of the energy-efficient features in this Riccarton Superhome.
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It s important to ask the right questions to ensure you find a builder who takes sustainability seriously. Follow our guide below to make the process easier. There are lots of environmentally friendly ways to build or renovate – from using recycled or sustainable materials, to incorporating passive solar design, which makes use of the sun for heating and cooling to minimise energy use. But finding a builder who has sustainable values can require a bit of research. I know, because we are currently looking to upgrade our spare room (housed in a tin shed attached to our house).