CHLOE RANFORD/LDR
Pool owner Bernie Rowe is part of a group looking to appeal the ministry’s decision to ban pool covers as safety barriers.
Fences might be expensive and ugly, but pool owners must make “sacrifices” to keep children safe, the Government says, banning covered pools without a fence for the second time. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is being dragged into court after ruling pool covers cannot replace pool fences, standing by a determination it made two years ago. Debate fired up after a word change in the Building Act from ‘fencing’ to ‘physical barriers’ allowed councils in New Zealand to issue waivers for pool owners with covers instead of fences.