Page 1409 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 11 August 1992
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MR KAINE: I have a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Since the Chief Minister has acknowledged that there are clear anomalies in the law, both in her media statement and in her response to my first question, why has the Government not moved to amend the Rates and Land Tax Act to remove those anomalies, rather than making a few off-the-cuff, offhanded administrative decisions that are only temporary in nature, presumably, since the anomalous law remains untouched?
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, to answer Mr Kaine's question, there are a couple of matters within that legislation where legislative amendments do need to be made. In the meantime, the Commissioner for ACT Revenue will act as though those legislative amendments have been made, as he has a delegation to do.
Building Industry Standards
MR LAMONT: My question is directed to the Minister for Urban Services. Could the Minister inform the Assembly of any steps that he or his department has taken in response to the trial of random inspections carried out by ACT Building Control?
MR CONNOLLY: I thank the member for his question. There was considerable public concern some weeks ago when a preliminary report of a building inspector found its way into the media. That preliminary report, which came into being as a result of a request from me to the Building Controller to check to see how the random inspection procedures had been operating in relation to quality in the building industry, did give rise to some concerns that some standards were not being properly observed. I was also particularly concerned with the suggestion in that report that building inspectors felt that they were not being supported or being encouraged to rigorously enforce building standards.
Madam Speaker, the home construction sector is a vital part of the Canberra economy. The decision to purchase a family home is the largest individual decision that most families will ever enter into, and it is absolutely vital that the Canberra public can continue to have confidence in the high quality of home building in the ACT. To that effect I arranged this morning a meeting between the Building Controller, the Housing Industry Association, the Master Builders Association and the union representing building inspectors, so that we can work together to ensure that high standards will be maintained.
I have made it abundantly clear that we will expect building inspectors, if they find faults in buildings, to put stop-work orders on those sites and to require any faulty work to be rectified. If we find that individual builders are cheating the system we will take action against them. I am delighted that the Housing Industry Association supports that type of approach. The Housing Industry Association says, quite properly, that by far the majority of Canberra builders do do the right thing and, as an association, they are just as keen as the Government to ensure that shoddy practices are stamped out of that industry because their welfare is so intimately connected with public confidence in the industry.
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