JONES MUST TAKE CHARGE

COMMONWEALTH Games Minister Kate Jones has been a good friend for the Gold Coast, but her response to the collapse of a company involved in construction of the athletes village is far from adequate.

Ms Jones has to resist the temptation to keep flicking subcontractors’ complaints to site developer Grocon.

US president Harry S. Truman was famous for the sign on his desk that read “The buck stops here’’. It is pertinent to Ms Jones’s situation now, with an escalating scandal surrounding the plight of subbies burnt by the collapse of Ware Building.

She cannot keep telling creditors to go and talk to Grocon, just as the State Government cannot afford to shrug this matter off as bad luck for that group and then boast that badly needed building industry legislation introduced into Parliament yesterday will protect subcontractors in the future. Reforms are intended to simplify the payment system, stop illegal “phoenixing’’ and introduce project bank accounts so money owed to subbies is available.

The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games is a huge project for all of Queensland.

The State Government is a key driver – yet this disgraceful situation involving the collapse that has left subcontractors out of pocket has happened on its watch.

It is supposed to be ensuring all infrastructure projects are completed smoothly.

Subcontractors have said they were proud to be part of the project, but Ware’s failure has tainted that for them. They need their money because they too have wages and bills to pay, and families to support.

Ms Jones should be on the front foot, declaring it is just not good enough that small operators are left adrift again, wondering where their money is. The subbies say they were warning of problems for some time, and that Grocon now wants to talk about completing the work rather than how they will be paid.

The Government has to ensure they are paid quickly. If it fails to resolve this, what sort of message will that send about future government projects?

The city still has a good story to tell about boom times. Developers and investors are encouraged to be part of that. But with the spotlight instead on the collapse of builders, the Gold Coast’s image and economy risk being damaged.