NSW MP Alex Greenwich has called for a Special Commission of Inquiry into apartment building defects following the evacuation of Opal Tower apartment block at Sydney Olympic Park.
On Saturday, the independent member for Sydney partly blamed the incident on the contentious relationship between developers and politicians over recent years.
"NSW has a shameful history of developer influence over politicians with a legacy of laws that favour them over owners and occupiers," he said.
Three thousand people were evacuated from the building and surrounding area on Christmas Eve after residents reported "cracking" noises.
Residents being offered information at the Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park. Source: AAP
Mr Greenwich said the evacuation "is only one example of the many homes built with defects that owners are left to fix and it must become an overdue catalyst to strengthen our laws".
"These are people's homes and the public should be able to report their experiences to a Special Commission of Inquiry that fully investigates developers, certifiers, and problematic buildings and reports back to government on gaps in compliance and legislative protections."
A systemic problem?
It comes as NSW Shadow Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation Yasmin Catley told the ABC that the Opal Tower incident was indicative of "something more systemic going on within the building industry".
"There are quite a number of cowboys out there and unfortunately the regulatory regime we have at the moment feeds that rather than deters them," Ms Catley said on Saturday.
She said the state needed a "robust regulatory reform for the building industry", adding that the government should target "the few dodgy certifiers ... who need disciplinary action or be removed from the industry altogether if they can't prove themselves to be doing the right thing".
Ms Catley cited the 2015 Lambert Review into the state's construction industry that made 150 recommendations.
The Opal Tower at Sydney Olympic Park. Source: AAP
She said the government "only cherry-picked a few recommendations" and that full implementation could have prevented the Opal Tower cracking.
"Money comes before safety [in NSW]," she said.
Also speaking to the ABC, Building Designers Association of Australia national president Chris Knierim said "unfortunately ... it is not an isolated incident".
He said a 2012 report from the University of NSW showed "85 per cent of the strata buildings built since 2000 have had defects".
On Friday, Opposition leader Michael Daley said the NSW building certification system needed to be improved.
NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley has called on the Premier to do more. Source: AAP
Mr Daley said developers should not be able to pick their own certifiers, and the system needed to be generally more rigorous.
Government investigation
The government late on Friday afternoon announced it had appointed an independent panel of engineering experts to investigate the tower.
In a statement, the government said it "understands the anxiety and concern this is causing for the owners and tenants of Opal Tower".
The two engineers, Professors Mark Hoffman and John Carter, will investigate the pre-cast concrete construction method used in the construction of the Opal Tower.
"At this stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the possible causes or what has happened as we need to complete our investigation, the results of which will be made public," they said in a joint statement.
"With regards to other buildings, the use of pre-cast concrete in construction is a building method used throughout Australia and many countries across the world and has been for decades."
"If our investigation uncovers an issue relating to pre-cast concrete, that information will be shared with our report to government."
Additional reporting: AAP
