hi,this is a letter that i sent to the board after getting their memo on that gasfitter up north, i also sent it to the minister of building.
Dear Sir, The practices that you have outlined have been going on for years. Most Gasfitting work is carried out by registered tradesmen but not all gasfitters, with no or very little supervision. I`ve worked for companies who have not had craftsman gasfitters except for the boss who has not supervised or inspected the work but has filled in the certification forms, this still happens. I as a craftsman gasfitter left the certification to the boss as do other craftsmen that are not willing to take the long term responsibility of installations being just waged workers. I also know of craftsman gasfitters who have sold gas certificates to other installers because it is lucrative, very foolish I know but any system will be abused by somebody, the only way to stop it is to change it.
 I believe that craftsman status should be discontinued with registration being the highest level of qualification. I also believe that self certification should be discontinued with gas inspectors re-introduced who would be part of the district council operation. Most companies charge $120.00 or more for a $25.00 certificate purchased from the pgd.board, plus $75.00 per hr for gasfitting work because this work has become exclusive since the introduction of self certification. Dropping craftsman status and self certification also introducing gas inspectors would make the industry more affordable giving scope for paid gas inspectors, safer work and remove the selling of certificates to unqualified installers. 

Well look at this, our beloved board in tatters.
 My initial post of "Get rid of the Board" seems well overdue. I hope all you dissbelievers will now get in behind a move to send a strong message to the Govt to rid our trades of total wankers and do some hard thinking of how we can rescue the whole plumbing/gasfitting industry, to get proper training for apprentices/meaninfull exam papers that reflect normal practices and regain tradesmens confidence. You can see from this article that j.D. has put in from todays Dominium Post and read on national news, that the board has been using us as a cash cow for far to long when they seem to only be fethering thier own nests. It seems the other members of the board have been unhappy with the chief executive just as we have. I am personally going to e-mail the Dominion posts write-up to my local mp plus to the minister of building and urge you all to do the same, one to your local Mp and also the minister of building(maurice williamson) if he gets a heap of e-mails all saying the same thing he has to take notice. i had another letter from the board on friday reminding me that i had`ent renewed my gas licence that is the second letter saying the same thing, thats after a phone call from them asking the same thing,i told them that i had given up gas fitting because it had got to stressfull and expensive to go through all the b.s. They must really be down on relicence fees, if you look at the pgdb website under search the register you can see why.

hi guys, jax may want to see this.
Gasfitter in clear over false-certificate claims  By Jared Savage  A police inquiry into an experienced gasfitter who was accused of signing hundreds of bogus safety certificates has cleared him of any wrongdoing. The Weekend Herald revealed in September that hundreds of homes and businesses had been fitted with potentially illegal and dangerous gas connections which authorities say could put people at risk of fire or poisoning. Police and Government authorities began investigating nearly 400 blank safety certificates that appeared to be signed by a craftsman gasfitter, then sold to up to eight unqualified tradesmen who carried out work in Auckland and Northland. The sales went on for nearly three years until a homeowner noticed her gas certificate looked bogus and laid a complaint with the government licensing body, the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drain layers Board, in July. However, criminal charges will not be laid against the gasfitter at the centre of the inquiry. It now appears as though the safety certificates were able to be FALSIFIED BECAUSE OF A LOOPHOLE LEFT OPEN BY THE GASFITTERS BOARD. Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said the investigation was finished and there was insufficient evidence pointing to any criminal activity. One of the factors considered by police was the large time delay between the time of installation of fittings and the audit dates - in some cases three years - during which time any number of people could have had access to fittings and gas installation. Some fittings failures were beyond the certifier's control, said Ms Hegarty."For example, after installing and certifying a wall-mounted gas water heater at a property, a builder at the site later installed a vent beside the gas water heater, causing the gas fitter's job to fail a compliance test," she said.Ms Hegarty pointed out that - prior to very recent changes to the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drain layers website - anyone could purchase a book of gas certificates and use someone else's name. All details needed to complete a gas safety certificate are available online, as the man at the centre of the inquiry is listed as a craftsman gasfitter with his registration number. Anyone could buy a booklet of certificates from the board, fill in the gasfitter's details, and then forge his signature. The craftsman gasfitter, 72, welcomed the exoneration by police but declined to comment further. The embarrassing loophole has since been closed by the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drain layers Board but chairman Kern U'ren did not return phone calls yesterday. An audit of more than 370 commercial premises and private homes found more than 90 per cent failed to meet compliance tests, with 16 found to be dangerous or unsafe. At the time, gas investigator John DeBernardo said the blank certificates were a small fraction of the 100,000 issued during the three-year period. WHILE MOST WERE TECHNICAL BREACHES AND THE NUMBER OF POTENTIALLY LETHAL GAS LEAKS WERE SMALL, he urged anyone with information to come forward.
Funny what you can find on the net. i think that the board should have informed us of this (in a memo) as well as the other one that they sent telling us of the problem in the first place.