Building standards bureaucracy highlighted

12:35 pm on 12 September 2012

An inquiry has heard the Canterbury earthquakes have helped highlight the unnecessary bureaucracy in the way building standards are developed.

The final hearing of the Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes is investigating the legal and best practice issues relating to the performance of buildings during earthquakes.

Construction Industry Council chair Pieter Burghout said it's a shame it has taken the earthquakes to reveal how slow the process for developing building standards has become.

Mr Burghout said it used to be that there was less bureaucracy and more action, but there is now too much focus on minor details.

David Kelly from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment agreed standards are too complex and need to be simplified.

Mr Kelly said one of the main problems in updating standards has been a lack of Government funding.