Anna Watson speaks in parliament on new Building Commissioner powers
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson speaks in parliament on new powers that will be legislated for the NSW Building Commissioner and how these will impact Shell Cove.
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00:00 now read a second time. I call the Member for Shell Harbour.
00:03 Speaker, I rise in favour of the Building Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 and I thank
00:10 the Minister for bringing forward this important bill. Speaker, this bill is very much welcomed
00:15 by the residents of Shell Harbour, many of whom who have arrived from all over New South Wales
00:20 to start a new life in the Illawarra. As existing housing is in short supply considering the high
00:26 population growth, thousands of new homes have been built in the past decade, with thousands
00:31 more on the way. The Men's Labor Government is on a mission to increase housing supply,
00:36 but there is no point in encouraging the building of more houses if they are of such poor quality
00:43 that the owners need to move out within a few years because of major repairs.
00:47 Like many fast-growing regional areas, most homes being built in New South Wales,
00:52 particularly in Shell Harbour, are class 1 buildings, such as freestanding houses.
00:57 These homes are being built in both new greenfield estates, such as Wongarwillie
01:03 or Shell Cove, and across other suburbs, such as Oak Flats or the Shell Harbour Village,
01:07 via knockdown and rebuild. Like many industries driven by profit, the building industry needs
01:14 government oversight. For too long, a minority of builders have been allowed to get away with
01:19 building houses that are just not up to scratch. Way too many houses are being built that do not
01:25 comply with strict building codes. Whilst most builders across the Illawarra do the right thing,
01:31 this legislation targets the incompetent and lazy builders that give all honest builders a bad name.
01:37 I know these reforms will be welcomed by the most hard-working builders who hate dodgy builders as
01:45 much as I do. We need to restore confidence amongst buyers of new homes that their builder
01:51 is doing the right thing and that their new house will survive many decades rather than just a few
01:56 years before requiring major repairs. Buying a new home with major defects has been the reality
02:04 for many residents of the waterfront development in Shell Cove, where Fraser has constructed
02:10 numerous houses that fell apart within a few years of being completed. Indeed, some of the
02:16 increased powers outlined in this bill were requested by the building commissioner after
02:21 he visited Shell Cove on 24 June this year. As reported in the Illawarra Mercury at the time,
02:27 the fantastic journalist Connor Peers stated, 'The NSW Building Commissioner has inspected the
02:33 defect-riddled homes in the waterfront development in Shell Cove and come away disappointed in
02:40 Shell Harbour City Council's flagship project.' I can assure the House that this is not just
02:48 the building commissioner who is disappointed. The residents of Shell Cove who are impacted
02:53 by these faults are absolutely disgusted, and rightly so, as they are living with major issues
02:59 with waterproofing as well as general poor-quality build. These are homes so poor that the owners
03:05 must think that they were built by amateurs who watched 'How to Do' on a YouTube video just before
03:11 showing up to the building site. That is how pathetic it is in the Shell Cove area for many
03:17 homeowners. The roof construction is so poor that the owners would have been better off leaving the
03:23 roof off and having the whole house open to the sky. At least it would dry faster and there would
03:30 be no chance of mould. I was delighted to read some quotes from the commissioner in the last
03:36 week's Sunday Telegraph, where he stated that the message we want to get across is that it is
03:42 better and cheaper to get it right than to have it come along and order it to be pulled down.
03:49 He said, 'And order it to be pulled down I will do.'
03:52 Phrasers will be trembling at the thought of the building commissioner visiting one of their
03:58 class 1 homes currently under construction. Phrasers have many questions to answer and
04:03 they have many apologies to make. I hope that the builders across the Illawarra are listening,
04:08 because they need to do better, and the building commissioner will be watching.
04:12 I have seen the dodgy work myself as I drive around my electorate. Phrasers and developers
04:18 will no longer be able to turn a blind eye. Speaker, I have spoken with so many of my
04:24 constituents who are frustrated with the current system, where no-one seems to care about building
04:29 works on low-rise housing sites, where poor workmanship is being ignored. These customers
04:35 are in a difficult position under the current legislation because they need to pursue rectification
04:40 orders through courts to get justice. They are generally up against experienced builders who
04:46 will use every trick in the book to minimise the amount of work that they need to do to fix the
04:51 problem or to pay at least the most decent compensation possible. Taking on a builder
04:57 is stressful and mentally draining, and many customers simply give up or are forced to live
05:03 in dodgy homes. It is not good enough, and that is why this Minns Labor government is taking action.
05:09 The people of Shell Harbour are also delighted by the anti-phoenixing provisions of the bill.
05:15 Dodgy builders should not be able to close one company and start another,
05:19 with a different name to continue the rot of hard-working homebuyers out of their money.
05:24 I am looking forward to welcoming the building commissioner back to Shell Cove
05:30 after this legislation passes. I say to Phrasers and dodgy builders that you are on notice. Do
05:36 better. Do your job and get it right the first time around. I commend this bill to the House.
05:42 >> Madam Speaker.