3 minute read
SCA Report
Ratchet straps, culture and safety
The Queensland Government is currently undertaking three reviews into a suite of issues and laws which eff ect the strata sector. There is the Community Titles Legislation Working Group, which I have previously written about extensively, the review into the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme and now, the Review into the Role of the Property Developer in the Queensland Economy.
Recently, SCA (Qld) weighed in on an incident where all three of these arms of our regulatory framework were likely to come into question. A high-rise building in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast had a large, rusty steel frame held together by ratchet straps, the kind you might use to fi x a load of wood to a ute. To describe this as shocking and dangerous is an understatement. The exposure of this horrifi c incident is a place where two of these three reviews (Developer and Home Warranty) perhaps intersect. The building in question is young and marketed as luxurious, yet at some point in either its construction or throughout the early maintenance of the building, a tradesman, developer or builder has decided that the use of these straps is appropriate, fl ying in the face of common sense and virtually every construction law I can think of.
Cost cutt ing, building defects and the lack of recourse for owners are not new issues in the building sector unfortunately. Hopefully, this incident in being brought to light in the media, coupled with these ongoing reviews may yield action on what is, by my observation, an entrenched cultural and structural problem that has been allowed to fester for too long. SCA (Qld) will be (and has already been) very active in participating in these reviews. Positive change should be the product of both reviews and as a representative of consumers in the high-rise construction space we will fi ght hard to ensure this happens. What is clear, is that the status quo cannot continue. The push to high density living is an inevitable and ongoing transition, and the more we push this, the bigger an issue building defects and legacy impacts of developers on bodies corporate will become. Let’s be clear at the outset of this discussion SCA (Qld) always has, and always will be an advocate for high density development and quality developers. But shaping our communities and our cities needs to be about a fair deal for end users, not just extracting the maximum amount of cash out of the public before moving on, with no care or responsibility. Just like we no longer allow mining without remediation, so we should no longer allow sub-standard developers to deliver a sub-standard legacy from their economic activity.
Developers have a role to construct, project manage and ultimately sell property for a profi t. They do not have a right to sell people property that is not fi t for purpose, or that doesn’t give them appropriate property rights. The so called `Cowboy’ era needs to end.
SCA (Qld) will be vocal in our support for quality development and quality developers and support the sector to weed out those that put the sector and consumers at risk.
Laura Bos,
General Manager, SCA (QLD)
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