13 August 2013

Simon v. the Cowboys

| johnboy
Join the conversation
1
lone ranger

Simon Corbell has announced that he’s taken up the dubious tool of legislation to combat Canberra’s legion of dodgy builders:

Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Simon Corbell, today announced that new laws will protect the public from substandard construction practices in the ACT.

The Construction and Energy Efficiency Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 was passed by the Legislative Assembly today.

Mr Corbell said the changes will increase government powers to deal with poor quality construction in Canberra.

“Before today, the Construction Occupations Registrar could only consider whether an applicant would be eligible to be licensed based on training and competency, and whether the applicant was disqualified in the ACT only.

“This was too narrow for the Registrar to fully consider the impact on public protection, requiring the legislation to be amended.

“Under the changes, the Registrar will be able to refuse to grant or renew a licence if a person has a history of non-compliance in other states or territories as well.”

[Photo by Peter Mountain – © ?Disney Enterprises, Inc. and Jerry Bruckheimer Inc. All Rights Reserved.]

Join the conversation

1
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

I’m not sure the answer to this is not staring Corbell in the face.

The quality of construction is almost totally dictated by what the certifiers are satisfied with. Any certifier worth their salt will pick up on dodgy practice, incompetence and poor operation. The certifier system has been weakened by allowing lowly qualified operators to enter the system, and the potential for graft is obvious.

In my case, the certifier missed the (non) installation of a slip joint under a slab, a render job which was incompetent, and then insisted a bathroom have an air vent to the outside world which totally negated our efforts to provide good insulation to the building. These slip-ups have cost thousands to rectify.

Competent certifiers, not paid by the builders, will soon weed out the cowboys.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.