Coalition plan to scrap energy rules for new houses condemned as ‘cost-of-living timebomb’

Abolishing energy efficiency standards for new homes would shift costs on to households and deepen inequality, advocates say. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

A Coalition plan to abolish compulsory energy standards for new homes that help reduce people’s exposure to heat and cold has been criticised by advocates as a “cost-of-living timebomb” that would deepen inequality.

The opposition’s housing and environment spokesperson, Andrew Bragg, said a Coalition government would cut the National Construction Code from more than 2,000 pages to 80, and strip away all requirements for new homes beyond demanding they were “basic and safe”. Longstanding compulsory energy and accessibility measures would become “optional extras”.