The Building Compliance Taskforce established by the previous Labor government in 2022 to urgently inspect uncertified government buildings and bring them up to code did not carry out its objectives, the NT Independent can reveal, which follows bricks falling from a wall during last month’s cyclone at Royal Darwin Hospital, which was identified three years ago as one of the key public buildings not meeting compliance standards.
The Building Compliance Taskforce (BCT) was first established in June 2022, following the NT Independent’s reports on structural and other unresolved safety issues at TIO Stadium. After facing a myriad of problems bringing the stadium up to code, then-infrastructure minister Eva Lawler used ministerial powers to exempt the building from requiring an occupancy certificate.
Not surprised. NTG under Labor in recent years let a contract for structural engineering inspections of public buildings and assets to a firm who are not structural engineers, not registered in the NT and were not the lowest tenderer. Go and inspect those assets and they are in too many instances dilapidated at least in part.
It is now crystal clear that neither CLP or ALP has fulfilled responsibilities, accountabilities as required.
To protect every citizens reliance upon entering public buildings that remain both “unattended and not structurally certified”?
THE RISK FACTOR embedded within every territorian requiring, needing . . . to enter structurally uncertified Public Buildings. The R.D.H. debacle is but ONE example of Political leadership failures.