Page 876 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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around the building code and its relevance to construction in the territory cannot enter the industry.
While reform has already begun, transformation of the building industry will obviously take longer than a few months. Access Canberra is focused on continual improvement of its services and acknowledges that it is important that we get this right long term and that industry practices and the regulatory system can support increased building activity while maintaining suitable construction standards.
I wish to conclude by noting that Access Canberra is here for all Canberrans. Its purpose is to provide easier and simpler services for everyone in a safer working and living environment. As a government, we can commit to further continuous improvements on all fronts.
Madam Assistant Speaker, we note the intention behind Mr Parton’s motion and can assure you and all members of the Assembly, and the community, that we are working to ensure that we have the settings right and to ensure that Access Canberra is working to improve the quality of buildings here in the ACT.
MR STEEL (Murrumbidgee) (5.18): I rise today to speak in support of Minister Gentleman’s amendments to Mr Parton’s motion.
The building and construction industry is subject to regulation and compliance to ensure high quality construction outcomes for buildings in the ACT, because we recognise the impacts of poor quality construction on our community and we are committed to strengthening the regulation of Canberra’s building industry.
I really welcome Minister Gentleman’s amendments to ask the relevant standing committee to consider examining matters relating to building and construction industry regulation and processes. Referring this issue to the relevant standing committee will open up an opportunity for broad consultation with Canberrans and bring focus to this important issue. Being on the health, education and justice committees, I am not a member of the relevant committees, so I do not have a direct say in what inquiries they self-refer. But I do have an interest in this area and I should be able to have a say in this place about what inquiries are important to my community. This one is. That is why I think this amendment should be supported.
Buying a home, as has been pointed out, is the largest purchase that most people make in their lifetime. When a buyer is spending upwards of $400,000 or $500,000 to buy an apartment or a house, they should expect that it is well built and does not have structural and other defects. I myself have rented a brand-new apartment that had ongoing waterproofing issues which, apart from other concerns, turned the wooden vanity in the bathroom into a waterlogged pulp after a very short period of time. We should expect better than that, especially with new buildings. A committee inquiry could invite public submissions from developers, from buyers and from renters to better understand their experiences with building and construction quality issues.
Minister Gentleman’s amendments also reaffirm that the ACT government has a commitment to delivering on the 43 suggested reforms that arose from the review of
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