The ACT's building lobby has launched a blistering attack on the Barr government, accusing it of ignoring expert advice, failing to consult with industry and broadly not meeting community expectations as it laboured through reforms to Canberra's construction sector.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Master Builders Association of the ACT chief executive Michael Hopkins said the past five years had been a period of "missed opportunity".
Mr Hopkins went on the attack after ACT Minister for Building Quality Improvement Gordon Ramsay talked up the government's achievements in reforming the ACT's construction sector during a speech in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday morning.
Mr Ramsay declared in the address that the government had implemented all but two of 43 promised building regulation reforms, and was well on the way to finalising a model for a long-promised engineers licensing scheme.
It followed this week's announcement of plans to establish a team of government certifiers to inspect large-scale residential developments in the national capital.
In a statement responding to Mr Ramsay's speech, Mr Hopkins said the assertion that "fundamental" reforms had been implemented "did not line up with community or industry experience".
He pointed out that the ACT government had originally committed to implementing the majority of the reforms by the end of 2016. He noted, too, that the government was yet to act of all of the recommendations of the landmark Shergold Weir report.
"The past five years has been a period of missed opportunity to reform the ACT's out of date building system," Mr Hopkins said.
"The ACT government has consistently ignored expert advice, failed to consult with industry, and not met community expectations on building quality.
"The government has regularly made major policy announcements through the media rather than developing policy in cooperation with key stakeholders based on evidence and expert advice."
Mr Hopkins said that despite the "decade of missed opportunity", the association stood ready and willing to work with the government to improve Canberra's construction sector.