‘You’ve done diddly squat’: Alan Jones slams Gladys Berejiklian for not acting sooner to help residents of the cracked Mascot Towers
- Shock jock Alan Jones has slammed Gladys Berejiklian over Mascot Towers
- Residents of 131-apartment block in Sydney were kicked out on Friday night
- Evacuation was ordered because cracks in the building put their lives in danger
- They now face forking out for repair bill, mortgage and paying for rental home
Radio host Alan Jones has slammed Gladys Berejiklian for not acting sooner to help residents of the cracked Mascot Towers.
Residents of the 131-apartment block in Sydney were kicked out on Friday because cracks in the building put their lives in danger.
As the Mascot Towers building is 11 years old, the residents will have to pay up to $1million for repairs themselves.
Mr Jones questioned the NSW Premier on what the government had done to assist those residents who now faced having to fork out for a repair bill, mortgage and rent for temporary accommodation.
‘Can you put yourself in the position of these people and say ”how the hell can I manage let alone look into a future with any hope?”’ he asked.
Mr Jones questioned the NSW Premier on what the government had done to assist those residents who now faced having to fork out for a repair bill
He then urged for the government to return their stamp duty – a required payment made when property is bought – to help them out.
During Wednesday’s interview on 2GB, Ms Berejiklian expressed empathy for those who had been affected.
‘I can’t imagine being in their shoes, because it would be horrific to be asked to leave your home, not knowing when you can go back,’ she said.
The interview turned heated when Mr Jones brought up a report on building regulations written in 2015.
The report by Michael Lambert, former secretary of the NSW Treasury, was commissioned to investigate failings within the state’s building regulation after a fire in 2012, featured 150 recommendations regarding building regulations.
The government tightened rules around fire safety but other recommendations were not initiated.
‘He (Lambert) made 150 recommendations. You’ve done diddly squat on any of them except the fire safety issue,’ Mr Jones said.
Residents of 131 apartments in Mascot Towers (pictured), inner-south Sydney, were evacuated after concerns were raised about the structural integrity of their building on Friday evening
Cracks in the basement of the decade-old building had widened in the lead-up to the last-minute evacuation, with many pointing blame at the newly built and unoccupied building next door. Pictured: Mascot Towers
‘Nothing has been done about any of these things?’
She said the hope was that legislation overhauling of the building industry would be introduced in the next session of Parliament.
Several residents, many with young children, have been living in temporary shelter in Town Hall because they have nowhere else to go.
According to the Daily Telegraph, they have been asked by building manager Strata Choice to pay a total of of $1million for ‘urgent repairs’ – around $8,000 per unit.
Residents and owners will meet with experts and government officials on Thursday night.