Builder collapse cripples plumber

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DARRELL Kay and his wife Katrina are still owed $127,000 for materials and labour they supplied to deliver plumbing services to Proserpine and Bowen hospitals three years ago.

It’s money they desperately need. Living in a converted shed outside Mackay following previous encounters with failing builders, it’s a major blow for the business they started in 1993.

Failed Rockhampton outfit JM Kelly was overseeing the hospital work for the Mackay Hospitals and Health Service.

Queensland Health was paying JM Kelly weekly, at a time the builder was delaying payments to its own subcontractors working on the two hospitals.

“We’re in so much non-payment,” Mrs debt from Kay said. “We’re 52 and 53 years old. No one will help us.

“Our contract terms were 60 days but after the first payment it would take 120 days. We are left begging for money all the time.”

Mr Kay said a project manager for the Palaszczuk Government’s Health Department had assured him it was paying the builder weekly and was not the cause of any payment delay he was suffering.

Fed up with his treatment and incurring additional costs on a project that had dragged on for more than 18 months after its strict schedule for completion, he eventually wrote to Queensland Health in August last year complaining about slow payments stretching out to 180 days.

He received a response the same day from Cliff Pollock, the director of facilities management for the Mackay district.

“Darrell, thank you for the heads up, and I can say on behalf of the MHHS we appreciate the effort that not only yourself, but the rest of the subcontractors engaged on the Bowen project have supplied in an attempt to meet the requirements both of the project and the demands of JMK,” Mr Pollock wrote. “You can be assured, that being associated with the Bowen Hospital redevelopment will not affect any future dealings or contracts that the MHHS enter into,” he said in the response.

Mr Pollock suggested Mr Kay pursue payment through the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act. Two days later, after filing a claim under the Act, Mr Kay received notice of termination from JM Kelly claiming a failure to rectify faults and his decision on August 12 to withdraw from the site.

In 2018, Mr Kay

$20,000 against invoices

$140,000. received totalling