More must be done to protect subbies when developers go under

Crusading by the Bulletin pushed the State Government to introduce reforms to try to protect subbies when developers go under. But more must be done.

Subbies on the Gold Coast have taken more than their fair share of pain.

CRUSADING by the Bulletin played a big part in pushing the State Government to introduce reforms to try to protect subbies when developers go under.

But more must be done to fix the industry and protect tradies, given there are fears of more collapses this year.

Australians have finally seen the recommendations from the inquiry into the banking industry. Why stop there? There have been dodgy practices going on for too long in development and construction that should have been stopped a long time ago. It has been enough to warrant its own inquiry.

The Gold Coast has seen more than its share of pain, with the multiplier effect from each collapse hurting subbies, suppliers, families and the victims who paid money upfront. The Coast has witnessed the brazen opportunism of the phoenix operators, who bob up after their firm goes bust with a new company name and start afresh, without a second thought for the subbies and suppliers left in financial ruin because debts were not paid.

Housing Minister Mick de Brenni. Picture: Clare Armstrong

When introducing a Bill in 2017 to protect tradies with project bank accounts (PBAs) on projects worth more than $1 million, Housing Minister Mick de Brenni told parliament it would “usher in an era of fairness’’ in the industry “that we have never seen before in this state or in our nation’’.

For too long, it had been the small, often family-run businesses of tilers, painters, landscapers, plumbers, concreters and others that had effectively been providing credit for the big companies, taking all the risk without the reward, putting in the work, buying materials and paying for labour and then having to beg to be paid.

“Non-payment has busted apart families. It’s made people homeless,’’ Mr de Brenni said at the time. There was no argument from the Bulletin on that point. We’d been shouting it for years.

Even in the lead-up to the Gold Coast’s Commonwealth Games, the city witnessed the unedifying spectacle of subbies having to fight desperately to be paid after a company working on the athletes village collapsed. Games Minister Kate Jones had to demand the site developer fix the mess.

Even some subbies who worked on the Commonwealth Games Village at Parklands had to fight to be paid. Photo: David Clark

The Government’s PBAs legislation went through early last year, despite howls from the big companies and their peak body. It applied to government contracts from March last year and, as of January 1 this year, now applies to private projects in the $1m-10m range.

But amid the more than 50 building companies that have gone down since 2013 in Queensland, leaving more than 7000 subbies unpaid an estimated $500 million, there have been no criminal charges against any major companies. Indeed, Subcontractors Alliance head Les Williams says a huge issue needing to be addressed now is the “enforcement void’’.

With legal and industry advice, he has filed complaints about failed companies with the Queensland and federal police and the CCC, which were all referred to ASIC.

In desperation, he has also written to the Prime Minister. Canberra cannot afford to ignore this matter. With an election looming fast, and with fears of more pain in the industry, more has to be done to protect subbies, their families, their industry and the mums and dads who invest with the expectation their homes will be built.