Arthur Sinodinos (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. It's a very serious question in light of the Grenfell fire recently, which we are aware of, and of course fires that we've had here in Australia, including the Lacrosse fire in Victoria in 2014. I can confirm that, in response to what happened in Grenfell, the Prime Minister wrote to the premiers and chief ministers on 20 June, encouraging them to put in place the necessary mechanisms for a greater level of auditing of high-rise buildings to ensure that these buildings comply with the National Construction Code. All states and territories have announced the measures their respective jurisdictions are taking to address and identify non-compliant cladding.

In line with the Prime Minister's request to premiers and chief ministers, all Australian government departments that oversee building works on Crown land, such as airports and defence bases, will also be undertaking audits to ensure that the external cladding products comply with the NCC. On 24 August 2017, the Building Ministers' Forum, chaired by the Hon. Craig Laundy MP, the assistant minister in my portfolio, announced that Professor Peter Shergold and Ms Bronwyn Weir would examine the broader compliance and enforcement problem within the building construction systems to ensure the effective implementation of the NCC. The Building Ministers' Forum has also directed the Australian Building Codes Board to expedite the implementation of a comprehensive package of measures to prevent the non-compliant use of all cladding on high-rise buildings.