Greens questioning during Queensland Estimates hearings has confirmed the LNP Government quietly scrapped the independent recommendation for a developer licensing scheme without so much as an online media statement.
Greens MP Michael Berkman says this is the LNP’s payback for massive political donations they received from entities linked to developers ahead of the 2024 State Election.
Background
- An accreditation, disclosure and registration scheme for developers was a key recommendation of the independent Developer Review Panel in 2023
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The report recommended a licensing scheme, with developers required to:
- Meet basic fit and proper standards and education requirements
- Comply with a code of conduct
- Be clearly covered by fairness in contracting provisions in the QBCC Act
- Have poor conduct (such as worker injuries or failure to pay contractors) disclosed on a public register
- During Estimates Hearings today (31 July), Public Works Director-General Mark Cridland told Greens MP Michael Berkman that the new Government made a decision not to proceed with this key recommendation, and that this was announced on 19 June.
- However, no public media statement can be found on the Government’s website, and the Department of Housing and Public Works website still says “The Queensland Government is considering the Panel’s recommendations to ensure any reforms offer the best outcome for Queenslanders”.
Quotes attributable to Greens MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman:
“After taking more than $500,000 from developer-linked donors before the election, the LNP has rewarded them by quietly scrapping a much-anticipated developer licensing scheme.
“An accreditation, disclosure and registration scheme for developers was a key recommendation of the independent Developer Review Panel in 2023, to rein in dodgy developers and protect Queenslanders from unfair or dangerous practices.
“The LNP has clearly been paid off by big developers, who’ve “donated” their way to a free pass and an exemption from the basic rules that everyone else has to follow.
“Tradies, contractors and subbies all have to be licensed. Yet any random business can just declare themselves a developer, start building a 20-storey highrise without basic checks and balances, and leave behind a trail of destruction with no recourse for workers and buyers.
“The LNP has effectively sold off its obligation to stop cowboy developers from exploiting a complex, unstable market, and running off with all of the profits and none of the consequences.”