Page 1296 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 5 May 2015
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In conclusion, the opposition is pleased to support this bill, which makes sensible changes to the planning, building and environment legislation, especially in dealing with asbestos.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (11.21): This bill proposes minor policy and editorial amendments to a range of legislation, including: the Building Act 2004 and Building (General) Regulation 2008; the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 and Construction Occupations (Licensing) Regulations 2004; the Planning and Development Regulation 2008; the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011; the Environment Protection Act 1997; and the Utilities Act 2000. An important element of this bill is that it clarifies that a licensed asbestos removalist must be a licensed builder under the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act and regulations, otherwise known as COLA. This means that a builder must hold an asbestos removal licence under work health and safety regulations to carry out building work that involves asbestos or asbestos removal. This is subsequent to the Dangerous Substances (Asbestos Safety Reform) Legislation Amendment Act 2014 and the Work Health and Safety (Asbestos) Amendment Regulation 2014, which harmonised the territory’s asbestos management framework with those of other jurisdictions.
The bill amends provisions relating to the exemption of building work from the operation of the Building Act or parts of the act. The bill simplifies provisions so that exemption refers to both building work and a building. The bill also includes other minor technical amendments, including in relation to how plantation forestry areas are referenced and identified in the territory plan and correcting the name of a statutory office under the Utilities Act.
This is a range of minor and technical amendments which simply ensure that identified problems are resolved, and the Greens will support the bill before us today.
MS FITZHARRIS (Molonglo) (11.23): I am pleased to support the Planning, Building and Environment Legislation Amendment Bill 2015. The minister has previously talked about the construction and building law amendments made by the bill. I would like to discuss the other amendments made in this bill. These include editorial amendments of the Environment Protection Act and the Planning and Development Act to update references to the territory plan, as well as minor corrections to schedule 3 of the Planning and Development Regulation, the Utilities Act and the Work Health and Safety Regulation.
In 2012 a territory plan variation reconfigured how plantation forestry areas are identified in the territory plan. Unfortunately, at the time two pieces of legislation that refer to plantation forestry areas were not updated to reflect the changes. Clauses 41 and 42 of the bill amend the Environment Protection Act, schedule 1 and dictionary, and clauses 43 to 45 amend the Planning and Development Regulations, section 1.92 and schedule 3, to ensure that references in those sections to plantation forestry areas are consistent with the territory plan.
A further amendment is being made to the Planning and Development Regulation by clause 46 of the bill. In 2011 schedule 3, part 3.4, of the regulation was amended to
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