Kimberley Kitching (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to rise to have the opportunity to speak on the Customs Amendment (Safer Cladding) Bill 2017. This bill was introduced in September last year by the then Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore, representing her leader, the then Senator Xenophon. Whatever position the various parties in the Senate take on this bill, the Nick Xenophon Team senators deserve credit for bringing this issue before us.

I'd like to talk about the history behind this bill. In November 2014, there was a fire in the Lacrosse building, a 23-storey apartment block in Melbourne's Docklands. Fortunately, all 450 people resident in the building were safely evacuated, but the building was severely damaged. In their report on the fire, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade noted that the external cladding on the Lacrosse building did not comply with the Building Code of Australia. The MFB noted:

The MFB obtained a sample of wall cladding material from the Lacrosse building for testing. The MFB report also noted:

The findings of the testing have determined that the material and wall cladding system is not non-combustible when tested in accordance with the Australian Standard AS1530.1.

The aluminium cladding system and material—