Page 1611 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
significant role in instigating much of this work. I acknowledge her efforts and contribution to the committee, although she is no longer a member.
I particularly thank the committee secretary, Mr Hamish Finlay. I note that this is his last substantive job as a committee secretary in this place, as he is moving overseas. His partner has been posted with DFAT as the deputy high commissioner in the UK, so he is leaving us shortly. I think he flies out on 11 August to go off to London, where he will be in iso for a couple of weeks, no doubt reviewing committee minutes and various committee reports.
For those who have worked with Hamish, we know that he has been a delight to work with. Not only is he very professional in what he does, but he is a good bloke with it. To Hamish Finlay, for all the work you have done for this committee but also for other committees, I thank you very much.
I commend the report to the Assembly.
MR PETTERSSON (Yerrabi) (11.39): I, too, would like to take this moment to speak to the report—you do not spend two years on a committee inquiry and not take the chance to talk about it. I also thank the committee secretary, Hamish Finlay, for all his hard work. It is a complicated topic that we have addressed, and his synthesis of the many different issues should be noted. It is a big inquiry to go out on and, as Mr Hanson has said, I am sure that all members of the EDT will miss him, as I assume the entire Assembly will.
I, too, thank the other committee members—Mr Hanson, Mr Gupta and, previously, Ms Orr—for their hard work on this inquiry. All of them, in their own way, have made the inquiry what it is. I also thank all the witnesses and those that made submissions. There were a lot of you.
This has been one of the most important inquiries that I have been a part of. Building quality is a big issue in Canberra. At a fundamental level I believe that Canberrans have been losing confidence in the builders that fill our skylines. It is so important that the confidence is restored, but government cannot do everything. Government will do what government can do, but it fundamentally relies on industry taking a long, hard look at itself and doing better. It is not the government that builds bad buildings; it is developers and builders doing the wrong thing.
Just the other day, while I was driving, I heard a radio ad for a new development. The ad spruiked the quality of the new development because of its esteemed builder and its focus on things like structural quality and waterproofing. This is a somewhat troubling display of the state of the industry, but it shows that there is an awareness of the issue from developers and builders.
Multi-unit developments will be part of our cityscape, moving forward. We cannot continue to expand outwards as quickly as we have; we will need density in our city centres. If no-one has faith in these buildings, no-one will buy them. If no-one will buy them then no-one will build them and that is a bad outcome for our city. Canberrans rely on the commercial construction sector for work.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video