This move by the Government to change who is ultimately liable for repairs to defective building work on new houses up to three-storeys high and renovation jobs worth more than $100,000 makes me very nervous.

At the moment, all parties involved in a project are jointly liable for any defects and repairs.

Which means, sometimes, if one of them can’t pay or if they’ve all gone under since the work was done, the local council that consented the work ends up carrying the cost to fix things up.

The Government doesn’t want that falling on ratepayers anymore, so it’s making changes. But I think it runs the risk of homeowners being thrown to the wolves when things go wrong.

So what’s happening is that if you’re building a new house or getting a decent-sized reno done, you’re going to have to buy a warranty which must include a one-year defect repair period and a 10-year structural warranty.

Which all sounds great. But as Carl Taylor, who is chief executive of the Combined Building Supplies Co-op says, there aren’t enough warranty providers in New Zealand. There are two connected to the trades and one independent.

And he’s not so sure about our chance of more options becoming available in New Zealand.

In theory, the benefit of these changes is that it will mean people responsible for the problems will be the ones who carry the can instead of everyone who worked on the project. And instead of ratepayers if things really go pear-shaped.

But here’s where I see there being big problems. Let’s say there’s an issue with water tightness and that falls on the builder who did the cladding and the flashings – what if that builder isn’t around anymore?

If the builder isn’t around anymore, none of the other parties involved in the new build or the reno are going to be liable under these changes, and with the local council no longer the backstop, where does that leave the homeowner?

It leaves them in the lurch.

I remember a few months back talking with someone about the experience they had getting a house built and what happened when the builder went under.

Someone else has been in touch with us today saying that they had a certified builders guarantee for a new build after the quakes, but the scheme went bust and now they have no cover for any of the problems that have emerged.

How can you make homeowners buy warranties which may not even be worth the paper they’re written on. and, at the same time, limit the backstop options available to them?

There is no way councils should be completely out of the picture because, even though it costs ratepayers, it’s way better than nothing.

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I’m with the KiwiSaver providers who are saying we need to go further than just increasing contributions and we need to make them compulsory.

This is after the announcement by the National Party yesterday that one of its election policies next year will be increasing contributions to 12 percent (6 percent from employers and 6 percent from employees) by 2032, to bring us into line with Australia.

KiwiSaver providers are saying today that they’re liking the policy - but the calls are already coming for it to be made compulsory.

Across the Tasman, it’s compulsory for employers to contribute - but not for workers.

National says it’s not in favour of making any contributions compulsory. NZ First is, though.

So does Sam Stubbs, who is managing director of Simplicity.

He’s saying that it has to be compulsory because we have to make sure everybody is saving for their retirement while they're working. And the only way to do that is to make it compulsory. Who can argue with that?

He says: "Those people who aren't saving into KiwiSaver are going to be much worse off later on in life. So if we want to remove inequality in New Zealand, and we don't like inequality in New Zealand, we have to make sure that everybody is saving for their retirement while they're earning.”

Compulsory KiwiSaver contributions are also going to be essential with any changes to the contribution rates, as National is proposing. Because some people who are paying three percent now won‘t want to pay six percent and so they’ll pull out.

And the only way to stop that, is to make it compulsory.

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Labour says the Government shouldn't be celebrating record high prisoner numbers.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Christopher Luxon declared it was a good thing the prison population was nearing 11 thousand people.

The Government is also celebrating a reduction by 38 thousand in the number of victims of violent crime since it came into power.

Labour's Duncan Webb told John MacDonald that while locking people up may provide short term relief, it doesn't last.

He says they eventually get out and will cause more harm unless they've been rehabilitated.

National’s Matt Doocey told MacDonald that he disagrees with Webb framing the situation as locking them up, but not fixing anything.

He says you can actually do both, and there is a duty to ensure there are rehabilitation programmes for incarcerated individuals.

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For me, one of the best things to come out of yesterday’s announcement about the Cook Strait ferries has nothing to do with the ferries themselves.

There’s still a bit of smoke and mirrors about the numbers and what it’s going to end up costing.

Because what it still comes down to is that the Government poured $671 million down the drain when the Finance Minister pulled the plug on funding for the old ferry project. Which some —Nicola Willis included— thought was too Flash Harry with too many bells and whistles.

They were, generally, the bells and whistles for the portside infrastructure. That’s where the concerns about the cost blow-outs came from. And that’s the side of it that could still blow out. Nevertheless, Rail Minister Winston Peters says it’s still a better deal. Even though it’s going to mean we get smaller ships, lower spec portside facilities, years later than planned.

Nevertheless, I really like what he’s saying about the Government getting the experts in to provide advice and guidance from the get-go. And I want to see a lot more of this from the current government and future governments.

Because one thing that’s always got me about politicians is how they can end up in government and find themselves in Cabinet and be put in charge of things they have absolutely no clue about.

And politicians being politicians, full of ego and bluster, they plod along faking it and hoping they make it – without asking people who actually know stuff for help.

We saw this with the last government when Jacinda Ardern invited senior business leaders to give their input into the COVID response planning, but they were left feeling ignored. I remember people like former Air NZ boss Rob Fyfe talking about it and how frustrating it was.

But if this ferry project is back on track because the Government has actually asked people who know what they’re on about for advice and guidance and has actually listened, then that has to be a good thing.

And I think politicians need to get out of the way more often and let experts have more of a say on big infrastructure projects, if it means things being done more efficiently and without the kind of cost blowouts that now seem to be par for the course.

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Christchurch's Mayor is suggesting the city's temporary sports stadium could be redeveloped for housing.

Addington's Apollo Projects Stadium opened in 2012 when the quake-damaged Lancaster Park closed permanently.

The City Council's confirmed structures including the grandstand will be removed when Te Kaha opens in April, but the future of the Addington site remains unclear.

Mayor Phil Mauger told John MacDonald it should be intensified and turned into housing, so people can jump onto a bus and head into town easily.

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I hope people are sitting-up and paying attention to what BusinessNZ is saying today.

Especially the people who have their heads in the sand about our ability as a country to keep paying for things like healthcare and pensions.

Because, as BusinessNZ puts it, we don’t have enough people to keep on doing that and we need a lot more people.

As one headline today says, New Zealand needs 10 million people to stay afloat.

BusinessNZ says we need twice as many people just to keep the lights on. For several reasons.

For starters, in 20 years’ time we’ll have a labour shortage of 250,000 people. And unless we bring a truckload more people into the country, we won’t have enough workers to do the work. But also, we won’t have enough workers paying tax to pay for the likes of healthcare and the pension.

That’s why I hope people are paying attention. Because, if we think we can keep on keeping on, providing the same services and doing things like dishing out the pension to anyone and everyone just because they turn 65, then we have to either stop doing that or somehow find a way to keep doing it.

If BusinessNZ was a political party, it wouldn’t last five minutes, because the stuff it’s saying today is the stuff that doesn’t win elections. But it’s the stuff we have to listen to and accept.

Example: raising the retirement age. If we are going to be five million people short of being financially viable as a country, we’re all going to have to keep on working longer. Most politicians are too scared to say that, but it’s true.

Or if we still want to retire at 65, we’re going to have to pay for it ourselves. Again, most politicians are too scared to say that, but it’s true.

Now I’m not talking about this happening next week or next year. I’m saying that it’s inevitable that, at some point, we are going to have to accept that everyone retiring at 65 and everyone getting the state-funded pension is a thing of the past. Because we can’t afford it.

Which is why BusinessNZ is also saying today that we’re going to have to start putting more into our KiwiSaver.

That’s another no-brainer. Because, if we’re in a position where we need to double the population just to keep the place running, then we need to change how we do things.

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New Zealand is about to become a dumping ground for dirty vehicles.

That’s what the electric vehicle people are saying today about the Government’s urgent changes to the clean car standards for imported vehicles.

Of course they’re unhappy. Because I reckon they are seeing and we are seeing the EV bubble about to burst.

I’ll tell you why. I’ll also tell you why you’re not going to hear me ripping into the Government for doing what it’s doing.

Reason 1: imported petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles are going to be cheaper, and we would all be complaining if the Government wasn’t doing anything about it.

Reason 2: penalising car importers for importing the types of vehicles that people actually want to buy makes no sense to me. And what I’m getting at there is I reckon most people still want to buy petrol or diesel vehicles or hybrids. In fact, with imported petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles likely to be cheaper because of this move by the Government, why would you even bother with an EV?

That’s why the EV people are so antsy.

And reason 3: I’d be a complete hypocrite if I said otherwise, because I drive petrol cars. One of them is a Toyota Prado that’s been around the block a few times and is a real gas guzzler, and probably isn’t that great for the environment. Not to mention the Vespa 2-stroke nightmare.

I have never had any interest in having an EV. I can’t tell you exactly why, it’s not a protest of any sort. It’s not climate change denial. It’s none of that. And I think most of us are the same. If we can get our hands on a decent petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicle for a decent price, then we’ll do it.

So, as of the end of this week, the penalties car importers get stung with for bringing high-emitting vehicles into the country are going to be slashed by nearly 80%. Which will be music to the ears of the 86% of car importers that Transport Minister Chris Bishop says are facing penalties already.

How the scheme works, is car importers have to meet annual emissions targets.

And when they balance things up at the end of each year, if they’ve brought more dirty cars than clean cars into the country, then they get hit with a penalty, or a charge. Which, of course, gets passed on to customers.

At the other end of things, if they bring-in more clean cars and less dirty cars, they earn credits.

Which sounds great in theory. But, as it stands, most of the importers haven’t been meeting their targets and so they’re facing charges. So the Government is slashing the dirty vehicle charges by 80% to stop that happening.

But the electric vehicle people aren’t happy.

Kirsten Corson is the chair of Drive Electric —which is an advocacy group that wants more of us driving EVs— and she’s saying today that this move by the Government is “embarrassing”.

She says: "If you look at us compared to Australia, in Australia you're paying $100 as a penalty and now we've just slashed that to $15 in New Zealand. So we are going to become a dumping ground for high emission vehicles."

She says: "We keep our vehicles on our road for two decades. The average car is 15-years-old in New Zealand, so the decisions made today are going to impact our transport emissions for the next three decades."

But what do you make of this move by the Government?

Do you think the EV bubble is about to burst?

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The city is back mingling with the country at New Zealand's Royal A&P Show in Canterbury.

Thousands are set to descend on the Agricultural Park over the next three days.

This year’s event has re-gained its royal status for the first time since 2010.

Canterbury A&P Association chair Sir David Carter told John MacDonald that the Royal Agricultural Society approached them after they saw them put on last year’s show, and asked if they were prepared to run under the Royal Show status.

They agreed, he says, because it gives prestige to the show, and means livestock people are prepared to enter more animals and travel further to attend.

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