Peter Georgiou (WA, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need to enforce compliance by all Australian importers and suppliers of building products with Australian Standards including by:

(a) preventing the importation of plumbing fittings that contain lead that can be leached into drinking water and banning of the sale of such fittings in Australia;

(b) ensuring that plumbing products are Water Mark certified;

(c) preventing the importation of other building materials which are non-compliant with the National Construction Code;

(d) adequately enforcing the National Construction Code requirements in relation to materials being installed to ensure compliance with Australian Standards; and

(e) ensuring there are sufficient measures in place to check materials used on building sites and in industry.

I rise to speak on behalf of Senator Burston's urgency motion. Building products are being imported that don't meet Australian standards and are putting the health and safety of all Australians at risk. Only as recently as Sunday, an extensive media report revealed that cheap imported plumbing fittings containing lead can be leached into drinking water. As you all know, lead is a toxin that can be particularly harmful to children. I believe this is a problem Australia must address as a matter of public urgency at a national level.

Perth's new multimillion-dollar children's hospital is an example of what can go wrong and how urgent the situation is. The hospital was originally due to open in 2015, but has been plagued by a series of problems including asbestos in roofing panels and lead in the water. A comprehensive report by the state's Chief Health Officer found imported brass fittings to be the likely cause of lead contamination in the hospital's drinking water, which has contributed to lengthy delays in its opening. The report found the fittings had corroded, leaching lead into the water system. It has cost millions of dollars to try and rectify these problems, and the opening of this much-needed children's hospital has been by over 2½ years. Last month it was revealed that there was also lead in the water at the drinking fountains at Perth's new billion-dollar stadium.

I believe public health and safety is being put at risk by the flood of cheap taps and other non-compliant parts that have the potential to leak lead and other toxic metals into drinking water. It's a concern which is shared by the WA Master Plumbers and Gasfitters Association and the Plumbing Products Industry Group, which represents manufacturers and importers. TheSunday Times newspaper in Perth reported at the weekend that they had been contacted by plumbers who say they are seeing more and more defective parts which don't comply with the WaterMark Certification Scheme, which exists to ensure products are safe and fit for purpose. They blame a massive loophole that allows hardware stores to sell taps and other plumbing products that aren't WaterMark certified, even though plumbers risk penalties if they install these fittings. They are demanding legislation to close the loophole. Today I spoke to the master plumbers association's chief executive, Murray Thomas, who outlined a series of issues, stating:

This isn't about protecting our industry. This is about public health. There is nothing to stop consumers purchasing products that are not WaterMark certified, to prevent retailers stocking them or to prevent wholesalers and builders from directly importing them.

This problem is part of a wider crisis in Australia involving non-conforming and non-compliant building products. Asbestos was found in Chinese-made roof panels at Perth Children's Hospital. These panels were cut on site, putting workers at risk, and had to be removed at a considerable cost. As a former tradesman and someone who has real-life experience on building sites, I have spoken to a few colleagues in the industry and they have told me of recent encounters where cheap imported plumbing products, which have the potential to leach lead, have been fitted. At the same time, however, another problem has emerged, with the importation of counterfeit products that pose as being WaterMark certified but in actual fact are not. I am aware that pressure has been placed on plumbers to install non-WaterMark products that, in some cases, a builder or owner has sourced, and if the plumber refuses a residential customer then they may lose that job.

As well as being available as over-the-counter purchases in retail hardware stores, non-WaterMark and counterfeit WaterMark products are readily available online, and commercial builders buy them directly, in large volumes, from overseas suppliers for their large projects. Sometimes samples are used to gain certification and then cheaper, non-conforming products that carry the WaterMark logo are supplied.

There is no doubt that we are lacking a proper regulatory regime throughout the country, except in Queensland, which I understand has banned the importation of non-compliant plumbing products. What we need here is enforcement, which at the moment is the responsibility of state based authorities, and in some cases they don't even have enough resources to ensure the rules are met. In Western Australia, I have been told, there are only nine inspectors to do this job.

People assume their drinking water is safe, as we have the best standards here in Australia, but imports of non-compliant products put the safety of the general public in jeopardy. This is a serious problem which needs to be addressed. Therefore it is my firm belief that, rather than getting separate states to legislate on this issue, we need a national law to bring the whole industry into unison. The plumbing and gasfitting association have said that contamination of water systems as a result of non-conforming products 'is potentially catastrophic, and we'll be failing the Australian community if these problems are not addressed urgently'. There is a clear and entirely responsible expectation by the industry and consumers that if a product is for sale in Australia it will be lawful and fit for the purpose for which it was intended.

My office received, only a few hours ago, photos from today which show plumbing products that don't have WaterMark certification on sale at a Perth hardware store. I have also received a statement from the industry body outlining its position on importing products containing lead, and I have to say I give it my full support. It seeks:

To sum up, there is mounting evidence that even minute traces of lead found in drinking water can do harm. The World Health Organization already maintains there is no known safe level for lead, and the master plumbers association has said we should follow the American step by reducing lead content to near zero. If we can help protect lives, why shouldn't we do this?