Tasmania: Vendor Disclosure still not enacted

Cassy O'Connor MP

Thursday, 30th October 2008

For Comment: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233 8300

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The Tasmanian Greens today condemned the Bartlett Government’s disregard for the right of home buyers to know whether properties they intend to purchase are harbouring asbestos in places like ceilings, flooring, wall sheeting, window frames, gutters, pipes, water tanks and insulation.

In Question Time today Greens Shadow Health spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP asked Consumer Affairs Minister, David Llewellyn, what possible justification the Bartlett Government had for not enacting Part 10 of the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2005 which provides for vendor disclosure to provide protection for home buyers, ensuring they are not exposed to deadly asbestos in the process of renovating and removing the material from properties they purchase.

“In the end, the Minister’s convoluted answer came down to the government placing a higher level of importance on cost considerations than it does for public health,” Ms O’Connor said.

“Vendor disclosure – where the seller of a property is required to disclose information about the property to the purchaser or potential purchaser - was a key recommendation of the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute report to the Tasmania Government in September 2004.” [1] 

“The Law Reform Institute recommended a model that was designed to strike a fair balance between the rights and interests of vendors and purchasers by providing the purchaser with sufficient information to make a fully informed decision, while requiring vendors to provide only information that they know, ought to know, or could reasonably obtain.”

“This provision was included in the legislation which passed in 2005, yet the vendor disclosure provision was never enacted after the real estate industry lobbied the government, claiming it would negatively affect the industry.”

“What price peace of mind, of being sure they are not exposed to asbestos fibres and potentially a terminal lung disease, for Tasmanian home buyers?”

“All Tasmanians who purchase properties should be entitled to know whether they are buying a huge potential problem, and more importantly, whether they will be exposing themselves or other family members to asbestos fibres that can cause terminal mesothelioma decades later.”

“Because the State Government has refused to enact Part 10 of the Act, that protection under the law does not exist. The Tasmanian Greens believe this is immoral.”

“Tasmania already lags far behind other Australian jurisdictions in terms of asbestos law. We are the only state, for example, where asbestos disease sufferers can only file one compensation claim and where payments to victims are about half what they are interstate.”

“As it stands under the current legal regime, a mesothelioma sufferer is likely to die before their claims for compensation are resolved.”

“Sadly, I believe, it comes down to a warped set of priorities on the Tasmanian Labor Government’s part, leaving victims and potential victims with inadequate protections under the law,” Ms O’Connor said.
 
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[1] ‘Vendor Disclosure’, Law Reform Institute Final Report No. 5, September 2004