As most of you know we got $12.5M in the Federal Budget 2014 (yes, 2014) for grants for strata properties to undertake proper risk assessment. Regularly I try to find out where it is.
Here is an update from the Mundingburra office of Coralee O'Rourke MP:
Good morning Margaret
I have received advice from the Minister for Housing and Public Works, The Honourable Mick de Brenni and I can confirm the following:
The Commonwealth Government has committed to provide up to $12.5 million over four years to the State to undertake engineering assessments of strata title properties (Strata Title Inspection Scheme) in cyclone areas of North Queensland, with the proposed objective to reduce the cost of home, contents and strata insurance premiums in this region.
In March 2018, the Department of Housing and Public Works signed an agreement with James Cook University for the development and delivery of the Strata Title Inspection Scheme. James Cook University is currently in the program development phase of this program and it is our expectation that inspections will commence in 2019. Information providing community awareness on the scheme will be made available in conjunction with the programs launch.
Should our office receive any further information with respect to the launch from the Ministers office, we will endeavour to share this with you.
Kind regards
My concerns are:
- This money was for strata properties to undergo risk assessment, not for research and development
- How much of the grant money is JCU spending?
- Who is going to administer the remainder of the money as grants?
- Who owns the IP (Intellectual Property) The Federal Government who gave the money; the State Parliament who took the money; JCU who are doing the development; or the poor strata owners past and present who hope like hell the insurance companies will take notice of the assessments, if they choose to do them, because they don't now!! I can see a tool like this being of interest to not only other states and territories, but as I pointed out years ago it could be of interest to other countries such as the USA.