Page 864 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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despite all the checks and certifications, they discover that they have a substandard structure. That destroys their confidence, their hopes and, sometimes, their financial viability. Worse still, buyers or their body corporate become enmeshed in frustrating, protracted and costly legal proceedings. Those who struggle to save for a deposit are then saddled with unaffordable legal costs, and probably some or all of the costs of remediation. And we just cannot condone this sort of callous victimisation. Poor design and construction practices also threaten the safety of occupants and, possibly, those in the proximity of a faulty structure.
We all know that the ABC here in Canberra did an extensive feature story on this, which led to journalists questioning Mr Ramsay, as regulatory services minister, as to what he would do, and I know that his first response to the media was that the government would conduct a review into building regulations. I note that that first response has since been edited somewhat, but the suggestion of another inquiry is absurd, because this review has already been undertaken, and it was undertaken a couple of years ago. The minister in question, Mr Gentleman, released a discussion paper as a conclusion to that process, and I applaud the minister for the way that that process was conducted.
The metrics quoted by the minister’s discussion paper were most alarming. Now, for example, building rectification and re-work was costing a staggering $150 million per year, and worse still, this excluded litigation expenses and impacts on maintenance costs. Complaints on building defects had doubled between 2009 and 2015, with those regarding apartment buildings representing more than 1,500 dwellings, and complaints regarding building work and defects had reached a whopping 350 a year. If, in the unfortunate event that buyers had no option but to bear rectification costs themselves, these government failures could potentially wreck people’s lives forever.
This government has been admiring the problem for a long time. At long last, to his credit, the minister got cracking, announced quite a few reforms that go a long way to fixing their failures. There were 43 measures in total. 29 of these were to be implemented by the end of 2016, with a further 13 to be in place by the end of 2017. One last measure, concerning an alternative dispute resolution model for residential buildings, is scheduled for implementation by the end of the 2017-18 financial year.
These measures could put a significant dent in the difficulties being expressed by Canberra’s building industry and arrest the trauma imposed on buyers, residents and occupants and workplaces. But we are now approaching the end of the first quarter of 2018 and, again, we see this government talking the talk but failing to walk the walk. We have seen very little indication that the minister’s targets are on track, and in fact it is unclear exactly which reforms have been completed or implemented, but recent media coverage of defective construction allegations provides stark reminders that the problem has not abated.
I am sure that Mr Gentleman will tell us that the reforms are being implemented. I am yet to actually see amendments: I note that they are down on my table here, but I am yet to actually see amendments. And, you know, we were anticipating that there would be amendments and that it would all be watered down. Mr Gentleman will tell
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