Flammable cladding removal to cost “many, many billions of dollars”

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The Victorian Government’s $600 million funding package to remove dangerous flammable cladding has been labelled inadequate by consumer advocate Anne Paten, who claims the rectification costs will be “many, many billions of dollars”:

Consumer advocate Anne Paten, from the Victorian Building Action Group, said the $600 million funding package would not come close to fixing the state’s cladding issues.

She told ABC Radio Melbourne the real cost was “many, many billions of dollars”.

“The people who have already been damaged and the taxpayers who’ve had nothing to do with this are going to give this token amount,” she said.

“And on the other hand, the people who caused it and should have to give and live up to the warranty that comes with the building once again walk away scot-free.

“We need enforcement of the laws and regulations that exist, and we need penalties when people ignore those laws.”

Too right. This whole fiasco is a microcosm of what is wrong with Australia’s rentier population ponzi economy. Here we have private developers making-out like bandits and privatising the massive profits from development, while the costs are socialised.

Rather than throwing taxpayer money at the problems caused by dodgy development, the Victorian Government should launch a sweeping royal commission into the state’s construction processes, regulations and standards. This would identify the failures, finger those responsible, and help prevent a reoccurrence in the future.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.