Strata body on government radar
A record breaking attendance of more than eighty Strata Community Australia (Qld) members enjoyed an outstanding opportunity to directly address attorney-general, Jarrod Bleijie and the commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management,
Robert Walker, at an unprecedented industry event.
While the attorney-general pointed out that strata is now considered by government as one of the four pillars of Queensland’s economy he also assured SCA members that a long awaited review of the body corporate legislation will be held in 2013 with plans to actively pursue SCA (Qld) as experts in strata.
Mr Bleijie called on all SCA members to make their concerns known to the institute as the peak industry representative body. The direct exchange between SCA members and the attorney-general also gave insights into the reasoning behind the lot entitlements bill before parliament at present
SCA (Qld) president James Freestun said that having the attorney-general and the commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management at this event, reflects how the strata industry has risen in priority for the government.
“This is due to the advocacy efforts by SCA, the increased media coverage engineered by the institute and through this the realisation in government that one million Queenslanders now live and work in strata buildings and these buildings are primarily professionally managed by us,” Mr Freestun said. “Up until recently the strata industry is a little like the forgotten child in a big family who for too long has missed the attention it deserves. No more. Strata is all grown up and getting all the attention it deserves,” he said.
Following the successful “ultimate Q&A” panel, SCA held its 29th AGM with an opening presentation from commissioner Robert Walker. Tripling attendance from last year, the commissioner briefed attendees on current QCAT decisions in respect to most common issues his office is involved in: Voting by phone at meetings, access to records, major spending, pets in strata and towing. The commissioner acknowledged the professionalism in the industry and how advanced the strata sector is in comparison to many other countries he has visited.
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