Humbled by your support - but there's still work to do
Dear supporters,
Yesterday signified a pivotal milestone. It was three years since our house fire, which changed the course of our lives.
Whilst extremely grateful to personally come out unscathed, our key priority was to get our two daughters back home. Back then, Miranda and Carla were 10 and 7 years of age, respectively. Now, 13 and 10, and we're still not home. Please share our petition so we can amplify our voice and stop other Aussie families from being expolited.
It's hard to quantify the trauma and harm that has been brought to our family by Metricon Homes but we are certain that the erosion of trust and the experience that they have put us through has been so much worse than the fire we went through. We are seeking accountability and ownership for what they have done, as well as changes to the system that allowed it to happen to us. Reading through the comments left on this petition, sadly, we know that we are not alone. Many of your stories are just as tragic and we send you strength.
Whilst there are a plethora of amazing and skilled builders and tradespeople out there; there are too many crooks, who are callous in their actions and don't have their customers' best interests in mind. They spoil the industry for all participants and need to be brought to question. We want to restore the reputation and trust in the industry - as the industry is too important to fail.
At this moment, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we wish to push ahead, we want to say THANKS to the more than 7,000 supporters who have got behind this petition to push it to the third most popular petition in the nation. This is because of YOU!!
You have signed and many have shared our collective need for REFORM.
Whilst it timely to catch a breath and reflect, our work here is not done. We must continue to build momentum until we are an unstoppable force - we are getting there. I have updated the petition in days gone by with the key decision makers (essentially all state Premiers and territory Chief Ministers, as well as respective Opposition Leaders and the acting CEO of Metricon). This is a state issue but rest assured, we will continue to garner both support from a local and national level too - as it is too important to "leave for later".
So once again, we say thanks and for the meanwhile please continue to share our petition widely amongst your family, friends and colleagues. .
https://www.change.org/Class1reform
BECAUSE one of your lifetime’s biggest investments shouldn’t be a GAMBLE!
Sincerely,
Melissa and Salv Barbagallo