Page 1766 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 15 May 2019

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video


heard. Even if he feels somewhat uncomfortable in that part of the role, I think it is a role that he must embrace and become adept at. Perhaps I have read that situation wrongly but all I can do is reflect on the feedback that I have got.

My motion calls for some unsophisticated but simple outcomes that are well within the reach of the government. It is obvious the minister needs to put more resources into the governance and technical processing areas to make sure the standards and their adoption are effectively facilitated, including through effective consultation by the minister. The NCC updates will be implemented against the 1 June deadline with another tranche in place by 1 September. The minister must ensure these targets are met. And if they can be implemented sooner and the industry is comfortable to do so, then all the better.

Finally, this motion calls for completion of the government’s own reforms which will serve to plug major gaps in our regulatory capability. No doubt other reforms could emerge to reinforce these even further, including any provisions which might be redundant or near impossible to comply with.

MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (5.50): I am pleased to rise today in response to the motion from Mr Parton in relation to building quality. As part of that response, I move:

Omit all text after “That this Assembly”, substitute:

“(1) notes the:

(a) importance of harmonised building codes across jurisdictions;

(b) need to prepare for building code updates and building regulation reforms within required implementation dates;

(c) necessity for effective stakeholder relationships and consultation to ensure government regulators and industry bodies responsible for applying regulation are harmonised to guarantee proper implementation; and

(d) most recent National Construction Code amendments were adopted by all other states and the Northern Territory on the recognised due date of 1 May 2019 and that:

(i) Western Australia allows the previous code to be used for a period of up to 12 months after a new code is adopted;

(ii) Victoria, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Tasmania have provisions in their law that allow a certifier to disapply the new version in circumstances where substantial progress has been made on the design of the building before the new provisions are adopted;

(iii) in New South Wales and South Australia, if an application for approval is made before the adoption date, it can be assessed against the version of the code in force at the time of the application; and


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video