Beechwood Homes

Mr RAY WILLIAMS: My question is directed to the Minister for Fair Trading. Before the Minister jetted off to the French Riviera—

[Interruption]

The SPEAKER: Order! Government members will cease interjecting. The member for Hawkesbury will state his question.

Mr RAY WILLIAMS: Before the Minister jetted off to the French Riviera, did she bother to check the credentials of the owner of Beechwood Homes, who, first, had lost $72 million; secondly, had another company in receivership; thirdly, had a business partner who had gone bankrupt; and, fourthly, was the subject of more than 100 complaints, before she renewed his licence?

Ms LINDA BURNEY: Members should check their facts before they open their mouths.

The SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The good news about Beechwood Homes is that the receiver—with whom I met only on Friday—is very confident that it will get a sale away this week.

Mr Ray Williams: Point of order: I refer to Standing Order 129, relevance. My question asked about the builder's credentials.

The SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order. The member for Hawkesbury will resume his seat.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The receiver is confident—and we need to be careful when hoping for this outcome—that there will be a sale away on the three Beechwood businesses in the near future. As Minister for Fair Trading, my priority has always been not to create stories and cause fear in the community but to ensure that the rights of the people affected by the collapse of Beechwood—

[Interruption]

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Terrigal to order.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The interests of the 390 families who are under contract to Beechwood must be looked after. Those people have either paid a deposit or are halfway through constructing their homes. The member for Parramatta and I visited an elderly couple in her electorate to talk to them, to see how they are travelling and to reassure them that we have their interests at heart and will put them before anything else. A second group of people have been affected by the Beechwood Homes collapse. They are people at the pre-contract stage.

At this point we are talking with the Department of Local Government and the Department of Planning to ensure that those people are not disadvantaged also. The key to looking after families who are in the pre-contract and post-contract stages is ensuring that we are methodical and careful. We must go through every appropriate process to make sure that the victims of Beechwood are looked after. I also share another important fact that seems to have escaped the attention of this gentleman, if I can call him that, the member for Hawkesbury. In relation to Beechwood, other people have been disadvantaged, that is, the tradies, the ones who lost their jobs the day that Beechwood went into receivership. The good news is that if a sale is achieved those tradies who are non-secured creditors will also benefit from the disbursement of the profits. That is this Government's priority and what it cares about.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: It is not about raking up muck and being completely inaccurate—and I will come to the member for Hawkesbury.

Mr Ray Williams: Point of order: I refer to Standing Order 129. The question directly asks why the Minister for Fair Trading renewed the licence of Beechwood Homes.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister's remarks are in order.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The Government's job is to protect the rights of people who have been affected by the collapse of Beechwood Homes, and that has been my priority and the priority of members on this side of the House from day one. In relation to the ill-informed nonsense of this bloke, the member for Hawkesbury—

The SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order. The Minister will direct her comments through the Chair.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The accusation is that Mr King's licence was renewed just before the collapse of Beechwood. Ding! Wrong! Do you understand that word "wrong"?

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lismore will cease interjecting.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The issue that the member for Hawkesbury raised was a certificate and if this bloke, the Leader of the Opposition, could get his lines right for a change he would have been able to explain it yesterday. It was a certificate that had nothing—does the member understand that word—to do with contract work.

The SPEAKER: Order! Opposition members will cease interjecting.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: The Opposition is suggesting that the Government cancel the licence of the three companies of Beechwood that are in receivership. This is where the Government is looking after consumers. That would have disallowed the receiver from completing work on 10 to 15 homes so that people who have been caught in the collapse could move into the homes that are partially built. When the receiver finishes his work—

[Interruption.]

Every time you say it mate, I'll say it again.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Hawkesbury will cease interjecting. I place him on two calls to order.

Ms LINDA BURNEY: When the receiver finishes his work the licence will be cancelled, and that is appropriate because the licence is with the receiver, dope, okay?

Mr Andrew Fraser: Point of order: I draw your attention to Standing Order 75. The Minister has flouted that standing order on a number of occasions. I ask you to draw her attention to it.

The SPEAKER: Order! Inappropriate comments and inappropriate interjections have been made. The House will come to order.