The Building and Construction Minister hopes the Prime Minister will announce a package in the next two months to help owners of leaky homes.
Maurice Williamson told the Master Builders Federation conference in Napier on Thursday that the problem is huge, with more cases being discovered every day.
The minister says an assistance package for consideration by the Cabinet is almost complete, with the big issue the specification of repairs required to make homes waterproof.
Mr Williamson says voters will not thank the Government if billions of dollars of public money is wasted on grotesquely over-priced repairs.
A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers suggests the issue may be much bigger than the $11 billion worth of damage already identified, he says.
Mr Williamson told the conference the burden of responsibility for making sure new buildings meet all the required specifications is weighing too heavily on city and district councils.
The minister says the building consent process needs changing to reflect the risk, builders need to take more responsibility for their work, and consumers need better information.
