Page 1609 - Week 05 - Thursday, 2 June 2022
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Let’s put a few facts on the record. In 2019 it was actually the ACT Greens that called for the government to audit private buildings. They want everyone living in apartment towers, even though most of them do not want to live in apartment towers. Of course, remember that with the government it is one rule for them and one rule for everybody else. It was their federal colleague Adam Bandt who wanted to see the cladding issue fixed once and for all. It is standard for the Labor-Greens government in this chamber to talk about federal politics when it suits them and to ignore it when it does not. The Greens now have a minister in charge of this situation, right here in the ACT. Unfortunately, she has been sitting on her hands, head in the sand, and has been completely ineffective at communicating what the government is doing.
The ACT Labor-Greens government must stop stalling. They must take their heads out of the sand and they must take action. I am calling on this government to finalise the details of the cladding remediation scheme before 30 June and to undertake a thorough and complete audit of residential buildings that have not yet been tested by 30 September. Minister Gentleman has stated for the record today that remediation works are DA-exempt and therefore no DA fees apply. But in terms of all government fees and charges that are applicable, it is only decent that this government must consider a waiver of all those fees. These are not optional works that are being carried out to improve a building. These are crucial works required to be done to keep Canberrans safe.
I am also calling on this government to set a target end date for the removal of all combustible cladding in Canberra. This cannot be pushed anymore. Most importantly, I am calling on this Labor-Greens government to show support for the thousands and thousands of Canberrans who have been affected by this issue for too long. To these government ministers, it might be reports, it might be assessments and it might be dollar figures, but to the thousands of Canberrans that are affected, this is their home. As I said at the cladding forum only a few weeks ago, I sincerely hope that we are still not talking about this during the next Assembly, come October 2024. I commend my motion to the Assembly.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Attorney-General, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Gaming and Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction) (3.51): Unfortunately, due to health reasons, Minister Vassarotti is unable to be here today for the debate, so I am representing her in this discussion. I rise to speak to Ms Lee’s motion and reflect on the speech that she just gave, a speech that was about as one-eyed as you could get. I think it reflects poorly on politicians because there is a serious issue to be discussed here, but Ms Lee cannot help lacing her speeches with derogatory comments about individuals. The playing of the person goes well beyond the pale when there is an important issue to discuss here.
Ms Lee interjecting—
MR RATTENBURY: I am disappointed that not only is Ms Lee interjecting already, after giving a fairly offensive speech about my colleague—she interjects immediately—but we have to have a speech like that, where she cannot just talk about the issues but in fact denigrates the minister at a personal level, well beyond what is necessary for the purposes of the discussion.
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