Olly Sundstrum: GJ Gardner General Manager on the Government's proposed building consents scheme

The Government’s proposed building consents scheme is being hailed as a ‘common sense’ approach by one construction company.  

Qualified tradespeople will also be able to forego inspections for low risk builds through the opt in 'self-certification scheme'. 

Businesses with a track record of delivering bigger projects will be able to access streamlined consenting. 

GJ Gardner General Manager Olly Sundstrum told Mike Hosking with this scheme, they could deliver homes 50% more quickly. 

He says they could easily return to this because product, material, and labour supply are not an issue. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So has some common sense arrived at the building site
near you. On average takes almost nineteen months to get
a house built and consented, So come on in self certification.
Some tradees will be able to sort jobs for themselves.
Builders at scale will have life made easier. GJ. Garder,
General Manager, Oli Sunstrom is with us Oli morning.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Good morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
You like the sound of this broadly?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Oh? Absolutely, you know, look fiercely, you know, thanks for
having me. Yeah, I'd like to know of our business.
Congratulate the current government for taking this first step and
making what we seem to be a common sense prevails
piece of legislation a priority.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Do you see risk in it or not?

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Oh? Look, I think you know there's certainly risk that
at least speak calculative risk. And really that where the
measures that are set up and put in place to
manage the process, to manage the criteria needs needs to
be strict and visible.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
So what is it what they're saying about how many
like yours? As you build similar homes all the time, therefore,
I've seen one, I've seen them all. Is it about that,
in other words, if you do the same thing over
and over again, or is it about you being good
people who can manage yourself anyway, no matter what you build.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Oh look, you know, certainly we consider ourselves to because
people no doubt about that. But really it comes down
to our bill performance and what we delivered to our customers.
You know, we have a very much approven track record
in this country and in this market. We've delivered right
across our national network over twenty three thousand homes to

(01:36):
Kiwis with every home that we've started completed, which says
a lot about our track record and the strict disciplines
we use. We're building track customers.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
How much of what you do you just stand there
and literally say, this is a waste of time in
terms of paperwork and compliance.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Oh look, you know, there's no doubt that, you know,
a lot of the bureaucracy and red tape that's involved
in some of these processes that we're talking about slows
this down, you know, fairly significantly, you know, and it's
difficult when you can't control some of those things. So yeah, look,
it certainly has an impact, and we believe that with
this proposed piece of legislation from the current government that

(02:18):
we can really speed up the process as it stands.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
What's the key benefit? Is it speed or is it
savings for the person buying the house?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Oh? I think it's both, you know, you know, to
give you an idea, you know, pre but the red
tape challenges that we're talking about. We could build and
hand over a two hundred square meter home from one
of our concept plans. You know, I'm talking three bedroom
to bathroom. We could deliver that home and you know

(02:49):
circle forteen fifteen weeks. You know, the delays we are
talking about can add forty to fifty percent of that
time frame, so, you know, with the right criteria, and
it needs to be the right criteria to builders such
as ourselves with a proven trek record, you know. You know,
I don't is why we can't get back to these
time frames because it's the stains product and material and

(03:11):
labor supply and not an issue.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Good on you, Mully, go well with it. Appreciate Olie
Sunstrom who's with GJ. Gardner's Kieren mcinnaughty. I don't know
why he's the acting, but he's the acting in this
particular portfolio, and I not happens to be on the
program Apter eight o'clock. He seems to be behind it
as well, so common sense might well win the day.
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(03:35):
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