Page 3105 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 10 September 1991
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various building regulations in place in Australia. It has recommended a Building Code of Australia to replace the various regulations that are in place in the separate jurisdictions of the nation. That is a classic example of overregulation and a classic example of reform that has been needed in this country for many years.
It has been estimated that the cost of regulation in Victoria alone is in the order of $470m per annum. That is the cost of industry having to deal with specific Victorian regulations, versus the ones that apply in South Australia or New South Wales or, for that matter, in the ACT. The Building Code of Australia is being adopted by all the jurisdictions throughout the nation, so eventually we will have the situation where all jurisdictions have exactly the same code. Manufacturers of building products will be able to meet Australian standards and not have to adjust for various jurisdictions. That has enormous implications for the building industry.
The Building Code of Australia has been in place in the ACT for private industry, I think, since November or December last year; I am not sure of the exact date. This Bill ensures that the building code and the ACT appendix will be adopted within the Territory not only by the private sector but also by the Government. So, the Government, in adopting its own standards, is subjecting itself to exactly the same provisions as apply to the normal building industry.
This is part of the ongoing process of elimination of various regulations from Territory to Territory. Indeed, at the Local Government Ministers conference which I attended in April this year further steps were taken amongst the various States and Territories to adopt a model building Act for the whole of Australia, one which would set up regulations and codes of building that would apply in legislative form right throughout the country. I believe that that process is currently in place. That will save literally billions of dollars per annum in the Australian building industry, in terms of excessive regulation, by having things on the same level. It is my understanding that the ACT is part of that process. If I remember correctly, in about April next year the model building Act will be implemented in Victoria, to be followed by other States and Territories, and the ACT has committed itself to following that process.
This is a small but worthwhile step to be taken in that process. It is a technical Bill, but one that is long overdue and one that is necessary. When we were debating today the new capital works program for 1991-92, members on this side of the house lamented the lack of opportunity that the capital works program provided to the building industry in the Territory. At least this legislation, when it is in place, will relieve some of the strain the industry is currently experiencing. I support the legislation.
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