Page 870 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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(k) reforms to date include changes to licensing laws to ensure that only people who have the competency to be a building licensee are granted licenses and to help prevent phoenixing or people shifting their operations to other existing licences instead of fixing defective buildings. Changes also give the building regulator and ACAT a broader range of options to use when things do go wrong;
(2) further notes that:
(a) many of the reforms are highly technical, detailed and interrelated pieces of work requiring careful planning and ongoing consultation with industry and the community;
(b) the immediate priorities are to develop and improve codes of practice for builders and building certifiers, minimum documentation guidelines and builders licensing reforms;
(c) these codes and documentation standards will also inform the new risk based audit system for building approvals and building work, which will start to roll out in 2018. While this system is under development, Access Canberra continues to audit and inspect buildings and respond to complaints; and
(d) there are a number of national reviews relating to security of payments, enforcement of the National Construction Code (technical standards) and building product and supply change accountability which relate to the reform program in the ACT; and
(3) calls on the Government to:
(a) report to the Assembly on the status of the implementation of each of the 43 Improving the ACT Building Regulatory System Review reform actions by the last sitting day in June 2018 and include a forward work plan for any outstanding items;
(b) publish updates on progress in delivering any outstanding actions every six months until the reform program is complete; and
(c) continue working with industry and community stakeholders to implement remaining reforms from the Improving the ACT Building Regulatory System Review; and
(4) invites the relevant Standing Committee/s to consider conducting an inquiry into construction quality, compliance, enforcement and any gaps in the current building regulation reform program.”.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (4.58): I would like to start by thanking Mr Parton for this motion. I think this is an issue that is important to most of the Canberra community and certainly is an issue that I am deeply concerned about and have been in this Assembly and the previous Assembly. It is an issue where I feel that Mr Parton has taken a very measured approach. I think it is possible that it could have been a lot more political, but this was a very measured and reasonable motion on Mr Parton’s part.
Having said that, I would also have to say, despite this, that I will be supporting the government’s amendment. My office has worked with Minister Gentleman’s office on this. I will talk about the reasons for supporting that amendment later on. But I think
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