Mr TIM JAMES ( Willoughby ) ( 11:55 ): My question is directed to the Minister for Building. David is an electrician who has been waiting 13 weeks for his New South Wales electrical licence.
The SPEAKER: Order! Government members will remain silent and allow the member for Willoughby to ask his question.
Mr TIM JAMES: I will start again. David is an electrician who has been waiting 13 weeks for his New South Wales electrical licence. His licence applications in Victoria and Queensland were processed in under two weeks. David said, "Every week that a licensed electrician sits in a New South Wales queue instead of on a job site is a week the housing target falls further behind." Does the Minister accept David's concern that delays in processing electrical licences are affecting the State's ability to meet housing targets?
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG ( Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (11:56): I thank the member for Willoughby for his question. The Government is focused on making sure we get housing approvals done and houses built for the people of New South Wales as soon as we can. Part of that effort is making sure that we have qualified, licensed people working in the industry who have the proper training and skills to build high-quality homes for the people of the State. The last thing we need is unqualified people in the system, building homes that might need retrofitting, costing our builders and developers more, and causing all sorts of pain for home owners. That reduces trust and confidence in the sector.
The Government is well aware of the challenges with assessment approval times, but there are some facts that need to be taken into consideration. There has been a huge increase in the number of applications, and we welcome that. We want more qualified people in the system. That is why the Government has made significant changes to the way licence applications are done. We have allocated over $4.5 million worth of resources to ensure we hire more people, put more people on overtime, and improve application forms and technology system to ensure that those with the right information in their applications are assessed as soon as they can be. Certainly, there is more to do. It is pleasing that I have received advice over the past six months that there has been a 40 per cent reduction in the time taken to assess a licence application.
Mr Tim James: Point of order—
The SPEAKER: The member for Willoughby rises on a point of order. Members will come to order. The member for Terrigal will come to order.
Mr Tim James: My point of order is taken under Standing Order 129, relevance. It is not the case that the timeline has improved; it has increased to 16 weeks. The Minister should look at the Building Commission's website.
The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The member for Willoughby will resume his seat.
Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG: The work that the Government is doing is all about improving assessment times. The member mentioned David the electrician. I would be pleased for the member to provide David's details because I have instructed the Building Commission to follow up on that particular case. It is of great concern to me. I ask the good member to provide those details, because it is something that I am concerned about. I have instructed the commission to follow up on this particular case. Certainly David's experience is not common; it is a bit of an outlier. That is why I am keen to follow up on this case. If the good member would agree to provide those details, it would be much appreciated. The Building Commissioner and the Government are working and investing to ensure that we approve applications quicker.
The SPEAKER: I call the member for Willoughby to order for the first time.
