Key building and construction industry stakeholders have today endorsed the NSW Liberals and Nationals Government Design and Building Practitioners Bill 2019 following calls from a Legislative Council committee to prevent the vital reforms from passing the Parliament this year.
Authors of a report tabled today by the Public Accountability Committee, chaired by Greens MLC David Shoebridge, have attempted to delay the Bill, which if passed by the Parliament, will immediately deliver increased protections for existing property owners while establishing new registration and regulation requirements on of a range of design and building practioners for the first time in the history of NSW.
Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation Kevin Anderson said moves to prevent the passage of building reform legislation before the end of the year, are a betrayel of the public’s trust and completely unforgivable.
“Industry and the public made it clear to governments across the country that we must take immediate action to better protect homeowners and lift standards in the building and construction industry,” Mr Anderson said.
“We must act now to restore confidence to the residential high-rise market by passing this Bill now, as the first step in the Government’s commitment to fully implement the Shergold-Weir recommendations. Despite this, Labor and the Greens have made a deal which will see them attempt to delay this Bill, and deny current and future homeowners new protections against defects.”
Minister Anderson said the report provides a list of recommendations to the NSW Government however fails to recognise a number of those have already be implemented, while in other instances the recommendation to Government is a repeat of the advice Government has given the committee about current and future elements to reform.
“Ironically, the recommendations put forward in the Committee’s report are built on shakey foundations,” Mr Anderson said.
“Key industry stakeholders, including representitives for property owners, have made it clear today, that they will not allow their testimony to be misunderstood and used as an excuse to not vote in favour of the Government’s Bill this year, which is why I am urging the Parliament to think carefully about any plans to vote against the industry collective and homeowners in NSW,” Mr Anderson concluded.
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