Residents in Zetland unit block forced out after ‘severe’ water damage and fire safety defects
The nation’s peak building body has taken a swipe at the government saying it was “gravely concerned” public confidence was being “undermined by the absolute failure of state governments” following the evacuation of a third unit block in six months.
NSW
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The evacuation of a third Sydney apartment building in just over six months has put the NSW government under intense pressure to overhaul the building industry, which has been slammed as a “ticking time bomb”.
Residents from 30 units at 19 Gadigal Ave in Zetland, in the city’s inner south, were forced to abandon their homes late last year following “severe” water damage and fire safety defects in the 10-year-old building.
News of the latest evacuation comes just 26 days after residents fled Mascot Tower in the neighbouring suburb and 167 days after cracks appeared in Opal Tower in Sydney Olympic Park.
The nation’s peak building body took a swipe at the NSW government on Wednesday night, saying it was “gravely concerned” public confidence was being “undermined by the absolute failure of state governments to get their acts together”.
Master Builders Australia chief executive officer Denita Wawn said recommendations from the Shergold-Weir report into the nation’s construction industry still had not been implemented.
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“The report’s been out for 18 months ago and the inaction of state governments is having a devastating impact on our industry,” she said.
Ms Wawn said state building ministers “must accept the federal government’s offer to co-ordinate an Australia-wide response” when they meet next week at the Building Ministers’ Forum.
“Failure to do so will result in building activity slowing and job losses,” she added.
City of Sydney executive manager of development Andrew Thomson yesterday said council only became aware of the decision to evacuate the Zetland building in February after being alerted by a neighbouring resident. He said the water damage also “caused the failure of the internal fire-rated construction throughout several apartments”.
“The water retention system in the building has failed which has led to a lot of water getting into the building and cause the structural damage, particularly damage to the walls that separate the different apartments,” he said. “The building is unsafe.
“We’ve been advised by the building owners that they’re taking advice to find out the nature of the fault and what rectification works need to be made to make the building habitable again.”
The state government is weighing up a number of building reforms in its “Building Stronger Foundations” discussion paper, which is available for public consultation until the end of July. It has also agreed to appoint a building commissioner to regulate the industry.
Owners Corporation Network chair Stephen Goddard said Australia should look at “earthquake insurance” similar to that in New Zealand to cover residents in the event of a catastrophe.
“That style of insurance places a levy on all strata-scheme insurance policies to create a fund, which is used as a safety net for catastrophic events,” he said
Originally published as Residents in Zetland unit block forced out after ‘severe’ water damage and fire safety defects
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