Call upon the Legislative Council and WA Government to conduct an inquiry into the WA building industry. 

Below is a template you may wish to use. Just insert your name at the bottom and send to the following addresses, whom of which have the power to make this happen:

laeisc@parliament.wa.gov.au
willagee@mp.wa.gov.au
northwest@mp.wa.gov.au
David.Scaife@mp.wa.gov.au
emily.hamilton@mp.wa.gov.au
ali.kent@mp.wa.gov.au

***

Dear Honourable Member,

I write to you, in your position as the Chair of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee, to call for a parliamentary inquiry into the WA Building Industry, which falls under the area of responsibility of the Committee.

During the pandemic builders in Western Australia took advantage of government stimulus grants to sign up thousands of clients beyond what they had the capacity to handle. After calling for the grants themselves, they now blame the government for their own poor choices.

Tens of thousands of West Australians are facing homelessness, mental health crises, marriage and family breakdowns, and suicidal ideation at the current state of the industry. The Government must act to protect the lives and livelihoods of the people.

Vulnerable West Australians are being taken advantage of by builders in this State and there are very few, if any, protections for those clients. Consumer Protection won’t assist, and the Building and Energy arm of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety defers decision-making to the State Administrative Tribunal.

The legislative framework around consumer protection in the building industry is wholly inadequate and further, it operates heavily in favour of builders. This issue affects tens of thousands of clients around the State and to this point, the government has done nothing to protect us.

Please see a petition with over 12,000 signatures here:
https://chng.it/6zj8ycDKry

Please see a website with the stories of affected West Australians here:
https://bgccasualties.com/

I call upon the Economics and Industry Standing Committee to commence a parliamentary inquiry into the building industry with terms of reference to include, but not limited to, consumer protection, State stimulus grants, trade and labour shortages, and the legislative framework of the State Administrative Tribunal, Building and Energy, the Home Building Contracts Act 1991, and the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011.

I believe it is your duty to investigate this crisis and protect the people of Western Australia.

Yours faithfully,
(insert your name)

***