Robust new Standards system a ‘must have’
“The review of Standards didn’t just happen to turn out ok, and the changes are not a done deal yet either.” By Bruce Goldsworthy The changes coming up to maintain and strengthen the development and delivery of New Zealand Standards were no accident. The review of Standards didn’t just happen to turn out ok, and the changes are not a done deal yet either. But when the details are put into law early next year we expect them to contain all the points that we at the Employers and Manufacturers Association and Business New Zealand recommended. Minister Craig Foss personally invited our comments on them in a letter earlier this month, and we responded emphasising a number of points we have previously made plain in this publication and elsewhere. The review of New Zealand’s Standards system began last year though behind the scenes the disquiet had been bubbling away for some time. A large number of parties reliant on Standards were not happy with how the organisation had been performing, and for its part Standards New Zealand had clearly been underfunded for years. Revenues it should have been getting were being siphoned off for causes unrelated to Standards development leaving the organisation less able to do its job than it wanted. The users of Standards were becoming more disgruntled. The standoff could not go on. Credit must go to the officials at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for finding a way through the morass. The fundamentals of the Standards system have been retained throughout the review, which are to ensure New Zealand has an independent and sustainable standards system. As Minister Foss says: ‘Standards make an important contribution to a more productive and competitive economy – for building products, energy safety, health and disability, environmental management, […]