'More people in more houses': Simon Bridges welcomes meth report

National leader Simon Bridges welcomed the new report out yesterday on methamphetamine, saying meant more people could occupy more houses but rejected speculation the previous Government was captured by the industry.

"If the standard was too high, in a sense, it's good news if it comes down. It means we can have more people housed in more houses," he told the Herald's Focus this morning.

But he rejected any suggestion the previous Government was not as critical of the meth investigation and contamination industry as it could have been.

"Ultimately it was the same deal with us as it will be with this current Government," he said.

But he said the situation remained unclear.

"We need to get to the bottom of it," he said of a disparity between the Standards New Zealand standard and the Gluckman report finding. "It's not entirely straightforward but it does seem clear the standard was too high."

Yesterday, Housing Minister Phil Twyford released the report by the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor Sir Peter Gluckman.

But Bridges dismissed a call that real estate agents convicted under the more stringent meth regime should be pardoned. That sounded like a "Tui yeah, right moment," he said.

Bindi Norwell, REINZ chief executive, also expressed surprise yesterday at the new report.

"The report states that there is a clear need for more research. We welcome that further research in order to have a definitive understanding of what is considered to be a safe level of methamphetamine contamination in a residential home," she said.