NZIV Update - 20 October, 2021

A good afternoon to our members around the country. I hope you are all keeping well.

I wanted to give everybody a quick update on where we are at in our attempts to get the Government to allow valuers to cross the Covid borders to undertake inspections and, in a wider sense, to enable valuers to inspect properties in times of lockdown.

Since the outset of the Delta outbreak the Institute, through our General Secretary Dr Gary Garner, has been in constant dialogue with the Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation (MBIE), lobbying them to allow valuers to undertake property inspections (having due regard to the requirements to undertake inspections safely) where lockdown rules otherwise preclude this and, since the introduction of the regional COVID borders, to allow valuers to cross the borders to undertake inspections.

To date, this lobbying has been completely fruitless, and MBIE has refused point blank to grants our requests.

In light of this, last week I wrote (via Gary) to the Minister of Land Information, Damien O’Connor, advising him that the situation of valuers is becoming more urgent as time passes, and urging him as the Minister responsible for our Institute to raise our concerns at the earliest time possible with his Cabinet colleagues, with consideration requested towards some variation to the Alert Level rules or Health Orders to enable the ongoing smooth running of our financial systems and property market.

In an e-mailed response from the Minister’s office, we were advised our letter had been forwarded to Chris Hipkins as Minister for Covid-19 Response as he was better suited to consider our correspondence.

At the time of writing, we are yet to receive any reply from Minister Hipkins.

I want to reassure the membership that I, and the NZIV Council, are lobbying strongly on behalf of the profession, and will continue to do so in order that our members can hopefully operate as normally as possible moving forward.

Warmest regards

Adam Binns
President
New Zealand Institute of Valuers