Coral Coast Homes collapse

You will no doubt remember the significant and lingering misery created in the Burnett and Bundaberg community after the recent collapse of Coral Coast Homes.

Hundreds of people, including tradesmen and homebuyers, have lost thousands of dollars each - millions of dollars in total. In some tragic cases, innocent people have lost their life savings and have been driven to the brink of financial, physical and mental ruin.

After hearing serious allegations at a public meeting that the government, through its department of Building Services Authority (BSA), allowed the company to continue trading with a valid building license even after the government was repeatedly warned by whistleblowers and customers for many months (almost a year) about alleged illegal and fraudulent behaviour, I wrote to the CMC on 1.6.09 requesting an investigation.

In the latest correspondence I have received from the CMC on 24.09.09, they confirm that in order to assess the concerns raised in my letter they are still waiting for a report to be produced by the BSA itself.

There is no indication from the CMC of a date when the BSA will supply that report. The CMC simply say they are expecting it shortly.

While I am pleased that the CMC is still taking these allegations seriously, this latest correspondence with the CMC however raises more concerns which I will be raising in a letter and in parliament with the Attorney-General and Premier.

My three major concerns are as follows:
1. Given the serious nature of the allegations and the amount of money lost by builders and homebuyers, is it appropriate for the CMC to allow the BSA for the last three and a half months to investigate allegations against their own senior officers?
2. I will be seeking a guarantee from the Premier that senior BSA officers, who were the subject of allegations of misconduct, were not involved in the production of the report which will be assessed by the CMC.
3. Will the report being made by the BSA and due to be passed onto the CMC shortly also be made available to myself or the people affected by the collapse of Coral Coast Homes?

It is my belief that the CMC do a great job, but is stretched to the limit and is deliberately under-resourced by this government which has a lot to cover up after 11 years of corruption and dysfunction.

More than 80% of the cases referred to the CMC are handed back for investigation to the government department from where the complaint first came!

This isn’t a healthy situation and certainly doesn’t encourage genuine whistleblowers to come forward with evidence of more corruption and misconduct, which suits this government perfectly.

In the case of the Coral Coast Homes crisis, I would have preferred that the CMC launch their own independent investigation using their special “Star Chamber” powers, which compel witnesses to truthfully answer their questions, rather than relying on a report by a less than independent Government source for their preliminary investigation.

The sooner we have a Royal Commission into corruption and cronyism in Queensland, the sooner justice will be delivered and the sooner victims like those caught up in the Coral Coast Home crisis will increase their chance of receiving fair compensation.

Rob Messenger MP