The Building Minister’s Forum announcement last week to increase the energy efficiency of residential dwellings to six stars by May 2011 is a mixed bag.
While it is imperative housing developments continue to be sustainable and climate-change adaptive, the new announcement will cripple the delivery of apartments.
We welcome Senator Carr’s announcement to ensure industry’s role in the development of sustainable housing.
While this represents a move from five to six stars for houses, it represents a 2.5 star increase for multi-unit residential buildings. This is by no means an incremental shift. Such a leap will have substantial impact on the ability of industry to deliver affordable stock in cities around the country.
This shift will cost between $10,000 – $20,000 per apartment to deliver. We are calling on the government to reconsider the timeframes for apartments and implement a phase-in to allow the industry time to respond to the substantial shift.
To view Senator Carr and Senator Wong’s joint media release, click here.
To view the RDC’s media release, click here.
