Opal Tower: Scott Morrison, Gladys Berejiklian asked to intervene
The owners of units in the troubled Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park have called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Gladys Berejiklian to intervene after being told to return to a building they say is a construction site.
- Opal residents told to return
- Tower has design, construction issues
- Opal report says plenty to work to do
The owners of units in the troubled Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park have called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Gladys Berejiklian to intervene after being told to return to a building they say is a construction site.
Builder Icon on Sunday told residents of 74 units they would no longer be reimbursed for hotel rooms and meals after the body corporate’s engineers Cardno declared those units safe to occupy.
Remediation works are being carried out after residents heard cracks from inside the 37-storey tower on December 24 and were twice evacuated due to safety concerns.
The homeowners say they have not received confirmation to return from Cardno.
They also say that when Icon on December 28 asked them to leave the tower, it promised to provide occupation certificates to confirm the building was safe prior to residents’ return.
In a lengthy letter to Mr Morrison and Ms Berejiklian, the owners called for a government assessment of the habitability of the tower.
“All residents have already experienced enough serious mental and financial stress during this crisis,” they wrote.
“We should not be further subjected to the noise and dust, heavy machinery, loose construction materials, and the large amount of workers moving in and out of our building while Icon fixes problems that should have never been there in the first place.
“Our residents do not want to move back until all rectification works are completed.”
Support props remain throughout the building, according to the owners, and half the carpark is being used to store building materials.
The owners said there had been significant delays in receiving the hotel and meal reimbursements from Icon, which made daily life difficult.
“This has caused serious financial distress and hardship,” they wrote.
“We plead with the government to help ensure that Icon process our reimbursements immediately.”
“Many of us are starting to run out of options and are compromising greatly on our basic necessities.”
The saga would have a far-reaching impact on all Australians and the construction industry, the owners told the leaders.
The government had to restore Australians’ faith in the construction industry and set an example for those working in the industry, they said.
Engineers appointed by the government to oversee the remediation earlier this month said the tower was structurally sound but significant works were required to repair and strengthen some damaged beams.
Comment is being requested from the government and construction companies.
The NSW government is a co-developer of the site and owns 43 units in the building which are rented as affordable housing.
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