There are just two main discussions in this week’s podcast but the topics are both hugely significant in very different ways.
In the first we look at the new powers given to NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler to deal with cowboys in the building industry (hence the cowboy music at the top of the podcast).
In the second we hear from relationship counsellor and psychologist Amanda Gordon about how to deal with the pressures of being cooped up with your partner in an apartment during this pandemic (and the second wave if there is one).
Duty of care
David Chandler, the NSW Building Commissioner, has finally seen State parliament pass the laws he needs to start sorting the sheep from the goats in the building industry.
And part of the way that will work is that any signs of clustering of bad operators – architects, engineers, certifiers, developers and builders – with poor track records in apartment buildings will draw the attention of his team of compliance investigators.
Ultimately builders and developer who don’t work to basic minimum standards will be refused certificates of occupation, meaning they won’t be able to sell the units they built. That should put a serious dent in their business models, now and in the future.
Another critical aspect of the laws passed at the same time is the establishment of a continuing duty of care, meaning that anyone involved in building an apartment block as an ongoing responsibility to the ultimate apartment owner.
In the past, builders have been able to successfully argue in court that their duty of care was to the developer and if the developer no longer existed – often because they have shut up shop before they could be called to account for their crap apartment blocks – the duty of care expired with them.
But no more, as Jimmy explains, in the pod and in this story.
Too close for comfort
Then we go to Armchair Psychology founder Amanda Gordon who talks about how to cope with the stresses and strains of couples being forced to spend much more time together because of the lockdown and working from home.
Her answer is to take the time to fix any relationships that are broken – but also make an effort to find some “alone time”.
And she points out the difference between doing things together and doing things at the same time. Watching TV or even riding bikes is not really doing things together since you are just doing the same solo pursuit at the same time.
Playing cards or board games, cooking together and doing quizzes are different because you are interacting … and that’s the key.
Finally in our “Hey Martha’s” we find out about the intercom that requires you to squat and Jimmy’s exciting project to create a PodCom – a podcast sitcom with real actors performing on Zoom.
Listen here
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This is now being discussed in the Flat Chat Forum