The Age June 25, 2007 - 10:19AM
As the big dry rolls on, Victorian home builders will no longer be compelled to fit new homes with a rainwater tank.
Fairfax newspapers said that a leaked report showed home builders faced a raft of changes after the Victorian cabinet this month signed off on the second round of its five-star environmental standards for new homes.
Under the new regulations, to be phased in over the next two to three years:
- the scope of the five-star standards will be broadened to cover fixed appliances such as heating, cooling, hot water and lighting;
- rate water savings and energy efficiency separately; and,
- set as-yet-undetermined targets for water, energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions per square metre of floorspace.
But to offset extra costs from the regulations, the requirement for rainwater tanks and solar hot water heating will be dropped, the report said.
The leaked report was endorsed by Premier Steve Bracks, Treasurer John Brumby, Water Minister John Thwaites and Planning Minister Justin Madden, it said.
Government spokeswoman Claire Miller told Fairfax the new regulations were more flexible and sophisticated.
RMIT adjunct professor Alan Pears, a green building expert, told Fairfax the removal of the water tank requirement made sense if the regulations were broadened to encourage alternatives such as grey water recycling.