The government recently claimed in parliament that DIY building work is ‘shonky’.

They were justifying the Building Act 2004 which makes a person liable for a fine of $20,000 if they carry out work that the government have decided can only be done by a registered building practitioner.

This so-called restricted work covers virtually everything that a keen Do It Yourself home handyman would carry out during his or her weekends off.

Soon you won’t be able to build a deck, fix the plumbing or do some simple wiring.

Pretty much everything is banned, prohibited and restricted.

However if you want to slap on a coat of paint then that is OK. Unless of course you have to use a scaffold to get up under the eaves. Then you will have to hire a registered building practitioner.

This act is ridiculous and to refer to all Do It Yourself work as Shonky is an insult to all home handymen who take a pride in their workmanship.

There is an organisation called Habitat for Humanity which employs community volunteers to build houses for low income families.

They have built 240 houses round the country.

The volunteers are current or retired tradespeople and keen DIYers.

Under this new law, Habitat for Humanity will not be able to build new homes for the poor because they don’t have funds to employ registered building practitioners.

Once again it is the volunteers and those Kiwis who show resourcefulness, self reliance and ingenuity who are being penalised.

We don’t need this restrictive law.

ACT will get rid of laws that cripple enterprising Kiwis.

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If you enjoy doing maintainence around the house you should be worried by the implications of the Building Act 2004.