Hansard debates

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (17:00:15): Where is the opposition? Are they on strike? They have just about vacated the field. Do you remember the fuss during the government business program? I mean, it takes the cake, doesn’t it? Seriously—where are they? What have they done? They want to do scrutiny and accountability. Well, guess what you can do? You can stand in the Parliament. You have got 10 minutes. You can analyse the bill. You can make a contribution. They have gone on holidays already. Can you believe it? Where are they? All we hear is crickets from the other side. Seriously, this is a remarkable performance in the Victorian Parliament—to vacate the arena. Where is the hungry opposition? We have just marked the fifth year of the Andrews Labor government, and they are flying the white flag. I do acknowledge the shadow minister putting his hand up there. Did you see that? The lone hand is above his head to try and signal, 'Yes, we’re here, and we’ve got a member of the National Party as well’. And the rest? They are gone. They are gone—5 o’clock. Note the clock: they knocked off at five. A member: They’re in the bar. Mr McGUIRE: They’re in the bar, I am told. It is unbelievable that they have made such a fight and a fuss and then it has been revealed as just gesture politics, no more than that. So they stand condemned. Wait till we get to Thursday: they will be long gone. I do want to go to one of the points that the opposition raised—that this bill is primarily a matter for the commonwealth government. We agree, and that is why the Victorian government has called on the commonwealth government to move forward with amendments to commonwealth laws to crack down on phoenixing behaviour. So that is what this government has done. But that does not mean that these are not important changes. This is the critical point. Time and time again we have seen mums and dads left in the lurch where builders have wound up companies to avoid their liabilities, leaving a trail of destruction. That is the fact of the matter. This bill will empower the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) to hold builders and building practitioners to account where they seek to avoid their obligations to consumers. That is what the Victorian government should be doing, and that is what the Andrews Labor government is proudly doing. This is where we are and the state of play in the Victorian Parliament, marking the fifth anniversary of the Andrews Labor government. We are protecting consumers. We are looking after them. We are driving the economy. We are leading the nation. And what are we doing? Part of that is population growth delivering economic activity. What does that mean? We need more apartments, we need more homes and we need better protection from dodgy builders. That is what this legislation is about. There is greater protection for building and apartment owners under these changes and stronger powers for the Victorian Building Authority to investigate illegal phoenix activity, where companies deliberately go into administration to avoid liability for building work before re-emerging as a new entity. The bill also strengthens the fit and proper persons test required for practitioner registration by incorporating financial probity requirements. This will allow greater scrutiny of company directors, secretaries and influential people as part of the registration process. The VBA will be able to refuse applications for a new registration or the renewal of a registration if the applicant is suspected of having engaged in illegal phoenix activity at any time over the previous two years. It is important to be able to follow who is actually performing and complying with their contractual obligations and who is actually just setting this up as a mechanism. As the member for Broadmeadows I remember in my first term in opposition I had to address these issues in my own area on a major project. From memory about $1.5 million was going to be lost, and a whole range of subcontractors were not to going to be paid. So we know that this is an important issue that needs to be addressed, and that is why the Victorian government has stepped up. The Andrews Labor government is delivering. You can see for yourself where Her Majesty’s loyal opposition is: they are not in the house. They have either gone on holiday or they are in the bar. After the pretence of an argument earlier today, this speaks volumes of the state of Her Majesty’s loyal opposition in the Parliament of Victoria. It is an extraordinary scene. This bill gives the power to expand existing suspension powers for building practitioners responsible for unsafe work and to ensure that plumbers and architects can also face immediate suspension. This power was introduced for building practitioners in 2018, and it has already been used by the Victorian Building Authority. I know from other complaints to my office just how significant these reforms are. A lot of people who save up and buy their house then find they have got myriad complaints that are costly and difficult to address. If you have got recidivist performers in this field, then they should be held accountable, and that is what this legislation does. The bill also modernises and strengthens the Architects Registration Board of Victoria to ensure that the board can effectively respond to present and future challenges and improve, again, consumer protection and confidence in the industry. The point that I want to make is that this is happening really at a time when we need it most. We do not want any more issues with cladding and other inappropriate behaviour by builders. We need to have compliance and, particularly given the population growth, we need to give people certainty. That is why this is important. The Minister for Consumer Affairs is in the house, and it is important from her perspective as well, because I am sure she gets as many complaints as I do about this. While the Labor government is doing all it can to identify and stop illegal phoenixing activity, the federal government needs to make the changes to national company laws for it to be properly stamped out. I want to draw that to the house’s attention. That is the difference and is the significance of why we have to have both jurisdictions in collaboration on this matter. I think that should explain to the opposition the necessity of giving both Parliaments, nationally and in Victoria, the powers to better protect consumers. Other points of the bill include the winding up of the Building Practitioners Board and the transfer of its outstanding inquiries to the VBA for a more streamlined, efficient assessment. It modernises and strengthens the Architects Registration Board of Victoria to ensure that the board can effectively respond to present and future challenges. That is a really strong suite of reforms. We want to have harmony with the federal Parliament, and we have got the opportunity for that to occur. When it comes to what is happening, we have got the support of the Architects Registration Board of Victoria, who welcome the legislation. So you have got the key stakeholders backing it, it is in the public interest, the proposition is clear and all that is missing is the opposition. Where are they? I would like an explanation at some stage about where they have all gone to. There are even fewer now; there is nobody on the front bench. Let the record state that there is nobody on the opposition benches. We have just had our fifth anniversary, we are driving new legislation, we are helping consumers, we have got the strongest economy in the nation and we have got the Big Build. As the Treasurer will tell you, there is more infrastructure being built in Victoria in one year than the Australian government has planned for a decade. They have brought their spend forward, and do you know why that is? They have brought their spend forward because they are trying to follow the leadership coming out of Victoria. Mr Hodgett interjected. Mr McGUIRE: I hear the lone haranguer; there is only one from the opposition. I commend the bill to the house.