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Source: ONE News -
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An energy expert believes there will be an overwhelming response to the government's scheme to insulate damp and mouldy homes.
Budget 2009 has earmarked more than $300 million for the programme and Bede Martin from the Community Energy Action Trust is confident it will be hugely popular.
Martin says hundreds of thousands of houses around New Zealand are cold, damp and mouldy and in the South Island there are houses with windows that freeze up.
He says housing design in New Zealand has been "so bad over such a long time" and there are huge benefits in the plan.
Bede says the health gain will be the biggest and lot of the cost of the scheme will be clawed back through reduced hospital costs. " A couple of nights in hospital and you have paid for your insulation," says Bede.
He says anybody with a house built before 2000 qualifies for grants for insulation (up to $1300) and heating ($500) no matter what their income.
People on lower incomes (those with community services cards) qualify for 60% of the cost of insulation and $1200 for heating.
Bede says the government's energy agencies are working with a number of organisations trying to arrange repayment schemes for people who can't afford their share of the cost.
The Finance Minister says there was already money set aside for the insulation scheme and bolstering that to $320 million in total was an arrangement with the Greens.
Bill English says the government has been able to establish a broad base of support for the budget within parliament, and that kind of stability is more important than any particular programme.
He says the insulation scheme will employ hundreds of people.
The Certified Builders Association is hoping the home insulation package will create more work for builders. Association president Richard Merrifield says the subsidy should prompt more people to take up the offer to insulate their homes.
