New advisory panels meet

Four new advisory panels have been set up by the Department of Building and Housing, with the aim of providing advice to the Department on current issues and trends in the building sector.

Changes to the building regulator under the new Building Act include a greater consumer focus, and a requirement for the Department to seek input on emerging issues and the needs of the sector.

As part of this change, Building Controls has established four advisory panels covering the following topics: fire, access for people with disabilities, structure and the building envelope.

The three key roles of the Advisory Panels are to provide:

• input into the Department's work programme, including identifying research that may be necessary in order for it to carry out its regulatory function
• appropriate advice to the Department on the issues and emerging trends within the building industry
• ad hoc advice to the Department and General Manager Building Controls.

The Fire Advisory Panel was the first to be established, in June 2004, with Tony Gibson as its chair. This has now been followed by the Access Advisory Panel (chaired by Alexia Pickering), Structural Advisory Panel (chaired by Andrew King), and Building Envelope Advisory Panel (chaired by John Hill).

More details about the work of the advisory panels will be covered in future editions of Codewords.

Access Advisory Panel meeting  on 25 November

(left to right): Dr Jan Scown, Bill Wrightson (seated), Wyn Hoadley, Ron Pynenburg, Alexia Pickering
(seated), Minnie Baragwanath, Mike Stannard, Simon Tonkin, Hamish Handley, Vivian Naylor (seated).

Structural Advisory Panel meeting
on 15 December

(left to right): Graeme Lawrance, Mike Stannard, Peter Smith, Stuart George, Andrew King, Barry Davidson,
Richard Built, John Buchan, David Hopkins, John Ryan, Grant Wilkinson. Absent: Richard Bialostocki.

Building Envelope Advisory Panel meeting on
16 December

(left to right): Kevin Golding, John Sutherland, Adrian Bennett (seated), Mike Stannard,
Philip O'Sullivan, Bruce Connor, John Hill (seated), John Ryan, Bob de Leur, John Harper.