Liverpool Mayor calls for NSW Government action on cladding

26 July 2019

Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller has called on the State Government to urgently act to support thousands of apartment owners across NSW who have been left in limbo over the flammable cladding used in their buildings.

“The Grenfell Tower fire in the UK was a terrible tragedy and we do not want to see it repeated in Australia,” Mayor Waller said.

“Since we found out about the role that flammable cladding played in the fire, Council has been working to provide what assurance it can to residents.”

Initially 41 buildings in the Liverpool Local Government Area were identified as potentially containing flammable cladding.

“Our continuing investigations have narrowed that down to 24, 12 which are apartment buildings,” Mayor Waller said.

“Council estimates that more than 1000 apartments in Liverpool could be affected.

“People who own these apartments bought their properties in good faith, with no idea there was any problem with the cladding used.

“Many households now face bills as high as $80,000 in order to rectify the properties they purchased thinking they were safe.

“In most cases, the material used was covered by NSW regulations at the time of installation.

“NSW needs to follow the Victorian example, where Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced a $600 million package to fund rectification works.”

“All the properties were handled by private certifiers. Council had no role in signing off on these buildings as they were constructed.

“Rather than an ongoing blame game, the NSW Government should act now to make people’s homes safe. Residents expect a fair go.”