Mr BONSON - 2002-05-23
The minister would be aware that Jamac Homes has closed it operation, allegedly leaving home owners and subcontractors in difficulty. Can the minister advise the House what steps have been taken to ensure that, in future, these situations can be avoided?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very concerned with the situation with Jamac Homes. I cannot go into details. There are a few contractual and legal problems. However, one thing I have to say is that the situation today reinforced my conviction that we need major reform in the building industry, and the first major reform is the introduction of builder’s registration. My department is already working on it. We have to take into consideration special issues in the Territory, especially the fact that a number of contractors and builders in the Territory have English as a second language, but I can promise you that the discussion paper will be out in August 2002.
The second major reform will be the introduction of building indemnity insurance. The industry has been calling for something like that for years. The previous government failed to deliver - I am not surprised. We are going into action. In conjunction with the building industry, we are producing a paper that will go out for consultation. We will consult with the industry and we will form a committee to assist with the consultation, and the Territory Construction Association will be a major player in this committee.
I intend to finalise legislation by the end of 2002 and introduce legislation to this House early in 2003. We are not going to sit down and do nothing about it. We are very concerned. We want to protect consumers, and at the same time, we want to produce builders. Anybody who is a hairdresser or takeaway proprietor in Queensland or Western Australia can come to the Territory and become a builder. At the same time, when things got tough in the Territory, our builders could not get a job in another state for the simple reason we did not have builder’s registration.
We intend to consult with the community. We intend to protect the consumers. I sympathise with the people who have problems with Jamac builders at this time, but thanks to the previous government, there is nothing in place to protect them.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very concerned with the situation with Jamac Homes. I cannot go into details. There are a few contractual and legal problems. However, one thing I have to say is that the situation today reinforced my conviction that we need major reform in the building industry, and the first major reform is the introduction of builder’s registration. My department is already working on it. We have to take into consideration special issues in the Territory, especially the fact that a number of contractors and builders in the Territory have English as a second language, but I can promise you that the discussion paper will be out in August 2002.
The second major reform will be the introduction of building indemnity insurance. The industry has been calling for something like that for years. The previous government failed to deliver - I am not surprised. We are going into action. In conjunction with the building industry, we are producing a paper that will go out for consultation. We will consult with the industry and we will form a committee to assist with the consultation, and the Territory Construction Association will be a major player in this committee.
I intend to finalise legislation by the end of 2002 and introduce legislation to this House early in 2003. We are not going to sit down and do nothing about it. We are very concerned. We want to protect consumers, and at the same time, we want to produce builders. Anybody who is a hairdresser or takeaway proprietor in Queensland or Western Australia can come to the Territory and become a builder. At the same time, when things got tough in the Territory, our builders could not get a job in another state for the simple reason we did not have builder’s registration.
We intend to consult with the community. We intend to protect the consumers. I sympathise with the people who have problems with Jamac builders at this time, but thanks to the previous government, there is nothing in place to protect them.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016