Page 1576 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 12 August 1992
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One final point that I will raise is that I understand that a hotline was set up not too long ago for Canberrans concerned about building matters. It would be useful to find out how many prospective home purchasers contacted the hotline with problems. If problems were reported, what remedial work was recommended and carried out to rectify the problems? I certainly do not seek to blame anyone. I think there has been some slight tendency in the media recently to paint a bad picture of the building industry. We all understand that it is not correct. There are some problems, but they are caused by a very small minority of people within the building industry. Indeed, most people within the industry would like to bring those people into line because all they do is give the industry a bad name and undercut pricing when they are not going to do the job properly.
As I said, I raised the matter of public importance with some clear intentions: To see whether we can get better consultation between the building industry and those making the regulations; to use the professionals within the building industry to help form regulations; to streamline permits and the cost of permits within the industry; and to improve the booking of building inspections and such things. I think there has also been a slight concern from builders that the random building inspections might intimidate builders. I know that that is not the case and, once again, I think this would be resolved by having better communication with builders.
I have been along to many of the HIA nights when they have had representatives of regulatory bodies in the ACT talking to two or three hundred members of the building industry. I commend that activity. Those who are responsible for regulations, like ACTEW and others, have done a wonderful job in presenting viewpoints and asking how they can assist the builders. If we have a bit more of this, it might help the building industry in the ACT; it would certainly increase employment; and perhaps it would reduce some costs.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.24): I must commend Mr Stevenson for raising what truly is a matter of public importance here this afternoon. It is one of the few times that I can say that I completely agree with everything you said, Mr Stevenson. In particular, one of your proposals, of getting closer liaison between the industry and the regulators in relation to training, is something that we touched on in a meeting in my office yesterday with officers of the HIA, the MBA, the union representing building inspectors, and the Building Controller, to which I referred in question time yesterday. We are exploring the possibility of running a few trade nights, similar to the ones we have done with ACTEW, with the industry and building controllers.
I will get to this in a more logical order later; but most of the faults that were detected in that now famous random audit were fairly minor technical ones which probably came about, as much as for any other reason, from a lack of familiarity with, and understanding of, the codes of practice and what is required by the Act. Beyond letting the industry know precisely what is required, there is also a benefit in getting the industry and the inspectors together to get some understanding about how the Act is interpreted, so that the degree of leeway in either direction is well understood. The suggestion that Mr Stevenson said is a way forward is something that we have in hand, and I am confident that there will be some good outcomes.
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