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“We have written to Minister Gentleman urging him to immediately halt the new laws, on the basis that they are impossible to comply with, inconsistent with national safety rules, and are not the rules the government’s own policy set out in April this year,” said HIA Executive Director, Greg Weller.
“The new regulations require that any cutting, drilling or grinding products that contain silica must use ‘wet-cutting’ to manage the risk of harmful dust, for all products in all situations. This includes working in indoor areas with electrical tools.
“The industry whole-heartedly supports the intention of preventing harm from this dangerous dust, however, the physical tools to comply with this strategy and use water simply don’t exist.
“The use of water in close proximity to electrical equipment will introduce unacceptable safety risks to workers.
“While the government might say this is best practice and driven by safety concerns, it is inconsistent with the approach to managing this risk in the rest of Australia, and the world.
“WorkSafe ACT made the very sensible decision in June to give industry a three-month exemption from the rules while further discussions take place. However, there has been no indication as to what (if any) changes the Minister will make before next Monday. It is not reasonable to leave the industry in the dark with only days to go before the exemption ends.
“HIA has requested the Minister change the regulations to align with the government’s policy to permit controlled dry cutting for specific products where water will create a risk.
“These tools can be made safe using other approved methods and should be allowed in the ACT as they are across the rest of Australia.”
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the Queensland Productivity Commission’s (QPC) Final Report as a vital blueprint for improving housing supply and affordability. However, HIA warns that the State Government’s refusal to tackle local government planning barriers threatens to derail the entire reform agenda.
“Lower interest rates have seen the volume of new homes commencing construction increase, but they still remain well below the government’s target,” stated HIA Senior Economist, Maurice Tapang.
The latest dwelling commencements data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today shows a sharp pick-up in multi-unit residential construction activity in the ACT.
“It is good to see the NSW Government taking action to address the chronic undersupply of housing in NSW,” said Brad Armitage, HIA Executive Director NSW.