Climate change vital risk
The new year is with us, and for many of us business has roared into life over the first week of the year. January is a busy month for landlords. In Wellington January is a peak time when rental properties are filled with university students settling in for the year and with employees on transfer to new jobs. In fact, this is the busiest time for letting. In Kapiti, however, the movement of tenants is not subject to such peaks. There is a more even spread over the year. This week there are a few more properties advertised for rent than prior to Christmas. Rents are increasing a little as landlords factor in their increased costs over the previous year.
A number of landlords are still confused about the Healthy Homes Standards which are to be introduced. For example, they need to calculate the level of heating required by living areas, and then to assess whether existing heating can satisfy the requirements. Also, the capacity of bathroom fans and kitchen exhaust fans must match the published specifications. Any landlord requiring assistance might well contact a property manager versed in such requirements.
The Government has announced proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in a few areas including tenancy termination restrictions, anonymising records of Tenancy Tribunal orders, and permitting tenants to add minor fittings. This legislation is to be introduced to Parliament in early 2020. We await further details when the bill is presented in due course.
The loss of lives, property and whole ecosystems caused by the unfolding Aussie bush fires has arrested public attention in New Zealand.
Kiwis are good at responding generously at times of crisis. But it still takes individuals to step up and organise a platform for people to express this generosity. I would like to thank Jennifer Bradley and William Finch at the Umu Restaurant, Paraparaumu Beach, for organising two events. Firstly, the district’s volunteer firefighters, with their fire trucks, were in force at the Paraparaumu Beach Saturday Market with their collection cans. They raised more than $1500. Because these markets are predominantly based on cash transactions, they are great places for fundraising. I remember working with Louella Jensen and her Red Cross team during that terrible Christchurch earthquake when we collected over $4000 at the same market. This social function provides one of the many reasons why we must support the development of these vibrant markets. Saturday’s fundraising event continued in the evening with an auction held at the Umu that raised more than $9000. Thanks to Tall Poppy’s auctioneer, Stephanie Bradley, and all those who sponsored items.
These local fundraising events, and the international role of our firefighters and defence forces, directly supporting Australians at the coal face of the bushfires, highlights an aspect of the climate change debate. In New Zealand generally, and in Ka¯ piti, our understanding of climate change is largely focussed on sea level rise, coastal erosion and inundation. We seldom talk of the increasing risk of drought conditions and fires. Last week, in the face of the Aussie bushfires, Tim Mitchell, rural fire manager for Fire and Emergency NZ, issued a warning. If we don’t take steps to limit warming we could be facing similar destructive fires. He said, already firefighters are noting changes.
“Dry seasons are getting longer and the number of fires, especially larger fires, more frequent.” Even before the Aussie bush fires, the Parliamentary
Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, in March last year, flagged the reality of a heating planet drying out our old forests, plantation forests and our newly planted one billion trees. One estimate projects that in 20 years time the number of high/extreme fire risk days in NZ will increase by 71 per cent. The result could see fires flipping our carbon sinks into carbon emissions. The Aussie bushfires over three months had seen 350 million tonnes of carbon emission released into the atmosphere.
In Ka¯ piti, it may be prudent for us to not just concentrate on managing our coastal assets from sea level rise but also flooding caused by sea level rise and the potential of bushfires particularly given our steeper landscapes and plantation forests. Our risk management profile for the district should cover every aspect of risk that climate change poses to enable us to prioritise short, medium and longterm investments. Last year, council was the first in the Wellington Region to declare a Climate Change Emergency. The Climate Change and Coastal Summit being organised for early March should help us start this journey in collaboration with our communities.