Liberal MLA Deborah Morris introduced a motion to Assembly calling on the Government to freeze the adoption of any National Construction Code (NCC) changes that would increase the cost or complexity of delivering new homes in the ACT and publish a cost-benefit benefit before adopting any further NCC changes.
Thomas spoke against the motion, where he pointed out that the ACT Government has already delayed adoption of the code for 12 months in order to give industry time to accommodate to the changes. In his speech, Thomas also highlighted the risk of creating negative downstream consequences, including with expensive remediation costs down the line for homeowners should the code updates be delayed. He gave the example of waterproofing issues, which have been a very costly issue in a number of apartment complexes in the ACT, noting that strengthening waterproofing requirements is part of the NCC 2025.
The motion was voted down by Labor, the Greens, independent MLA Fiona Carrick and Thomas.