CFMEU and Greens join forces to bring in licensing for property developers
The CMFEU has formed an unlikely alliance with the Queensland Greens in a bid to pressure the state government to bring in a licensing regime for property developers.
QLD Politics
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Labor-affiliated construction union the CFMEU has formed an unlikely alliance with the Queensland Greens in a bid to pressure the state government to bring in a licensing regime for property developers.
Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime and Energy Union (CFMEU) assistant secretary Jade Ingham signalled the unusual pairing was due to lacklustre progress by state government, subtly calling on supportive Labor MPs “to get a bigger voice”.
Mr Ingham, alongside the Greens’ state MP Michael Berkman and Brisbane City Councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan, called on the state government to pull up its socks and implement a licensing regime for developers.
They argued builders, subcontractors and tradies were regulated to the hilt while developers had “open slather”.
“We have seen countless examples of developers leaving a trail of destruction and misery behind them with next to zero recourse - new buildings riddled with costly defects, workers injured and exploited, and subcontractors left unpaid,” Mr Ingham said.
“Until developers are properly licenced and regulated this will only get worse.”
A parliamentary committee in March 2020 called on the state government to undertake a review of the role of property developers, including the “impact of their financial and operational capacity, ethical behaviour, and work practices” and report back by July 2021.
Public Works and Procurement Minister Mick de Brenni conferred an independent developer review panel in late 2021, with the group releasing a discussion paper last month.
“All we’ve got at the moment is a discussion paper that should have been draft legislation,” Mr Ingham said.
“How many more homeowners are going to suffer, how many more workers are going to suffer in the next couple of years as we move into a boom phase for the building industry?”
The discussion paper noted is had heard about the “breadth of professionalism displayed by developers in Queensland” with some valuing safety and quality with others displaying “poor behaviour”.
“While these issues do not arise in relation to all developers, they nonetheless appear to have settled in the public consciousness and now inform the public perception of developers,” the paper stated.
A spokesman for Minister Mick de Brenni said people were urged to get their submissions on the discussion paper in before December 16 and that any legislation would be “as a result of that consultation”.
Mr Ingham said it shouldn’t be surprising the that CFMEU was prepared to “work with people across the political spectrum”.
The Greens’ Mr Berkman said the issue of developer licensing needed to be “desperately addressed” and the party would take any opportunity to work with any union trying to get real outcomes.
“It’s just really important for us, as a collective, to be pushing from the grassroots up to get real outcomes in legislation and in policy,” he said.
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