Page 1612 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
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I will highlight a few of the recommendations that I think need particular noting. They are all good, but these ones are the best. Recommendation 3: establishing a building commissioner, a new independent statutory officer responsible for making sure that the building code is upheld. This will restore confidence in the industry.
Recommendation 18 is to review the Master Builders fidelity fund. We heard too many stories of consumers being unprotected when they needed it most; and, most troubling, because the fund is removed from government processes, information on its operations is not available to the public. This needs to change.
Recommendations 20, 21 and 30 in some way address phoenixing, the great scourge of the construction industry which needs to be addressed. Recommendation 26 is for the creation of a new building standards and disputes tribunal to make accessing justice easier. This will be a very good thing. Recommendation 41 is for a building defect bond scheme. It is a great idea—New South Wales has done it and so should we.
I put on the record my support for Minister Ramsay’s announcement yesterday. The issue of certifiers came up time and again. My firm view, from the very outset of this inquiry, has been that the best way to break the nexus of a builder, developer and certifier is for the government to bring back public sector certifiers. It appears all too cosy in certain situations for the same builders, developers and certifiers to seemingly work together on project after project.
I suspect that most people would share my view that builders are not going back to the same certifier time and again because of the rigorous and thorough job that they do in finding fault in their work. Thankfully, for large-scale residential developments, this will no longer be a concern. Once again, I thank the committee office and my fellow committee members, as well as everyone that contributed.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Crossbench executive members’ business
Ordered that crossbench executive members’ business be called on.
Gaming—harm minimisation
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (11.44): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes that:
(a) in the ACT, people can lose more than $1000 an hour playing poker machines;
(b) all Australian jurisdictions except for the ACT and NSW have bet limits of $5 per spin;
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