[Greens-Media] Keneally government in denial on high fronted gutters

[John Kaye]

Keneally government in denial on high fronted gutters
 
Media release: 18 September 2010
 
NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge and her predecessors are refusing to acknowledge the potential damage to hundreds of thousands of homes in NSW from inappropriately installed high-fronted gutters, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye. ('Complaints pour in over shonky gutters', SMH 18 September, p. 6, http://bit.ly/smh100918F)
 
Dr Kaye said: "The Keneally government is hoping in vain that the billions of dollars of damage that could be caused by high fronted gutters will just go away.
 
"Minister Judge buried the results of the Office of Fair Trading's survey that showed that nearly three quarters of people who had guttering problems experienced damage to their homes.
 
"Along with her predecessors she has refused to move against  the sale of systems for fixing high fronted gutters to buildings that put houses at risk and cause non-compliance with the building codes and standards.
 
"With 95 percent of gutters sold in NSW being high fronted and almost all of them fitted in a way that pushes overflow back into the building, this state faces an insurance and building repair crisis.
 
"Admitting that previous inaction was wrong might be hard for the Minister but it be would a whole lot better than allowing the problem to continue to grow.
 
"The bill for replacing or refitting the gutters for new houses constructed in the last 12 months could be as high as $67.5 million. 
 
"The cost of water damage from not fixing the problem could be many time greater.
 
"The Greens are calling on Minister Judge to warn the industry that fixing these gutters directly to the facia boards without a system of flashing is dangerous and does not comply with the building code or the Australian standards.
 
"We want her to stop the manufacturers of these gutters selling fixing systems that inevitably put houses at risk of water penetration," Dr Kaye said. 
 
For more information: John Kaye 0407 195 455 
 
 
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John Kaye
Greens member of the NSW Parliament
phone: (02) 9230 2668
fax: (02) 9230 2586
mobile: 0407 195 455
email: john.kaye at parliament.nsw.gov.au
web: www.johnkaye.org.au
 
mail: Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000