SubbiesUnited has been told by a creditor who was at the Batir Construction meeting yesterday, that Batir's biggest client, the Department of Housing, have indicated their intention to draw on Batir's retention or bank guarantees.
The Department of Housing should have to substantiate or prove any liability and take into account that Subbies have already completely lost their money as is the norm in this absolute disgrace of an industry.
How it works.
- The QBCC answers to the Minister for Housing and Public Works, Mick De Brenni.
- The QBCC gave Batir a license based on financials submitted.
- The Department of Housing was Batir's biggest client.
- The Department of Housing withheld payment, possibly with good reason.
- The Department of Housing now wants to draw on what little available retention there are.
- Those fund should be quarantined to pay back the Governments constituents, the Subcontractors.
It's time that the Qld Government, the Department of Housing and the QBCC stopped using the Subcontractors and Suppliers as punching bags!
It's time they had some empathy for this hard working group of people.
Les Williams on the use of Retentions
Les Williams from Subcontractors Alliance said today that the developer has a right to recoup costs to reappoint another builder or complete from funds owed to the builder. That includes securities provided by the builder (BATIR). They are obliged to substantiate those costs. What remains is quarantined for subcontractors who have made charges.
The retentions provided by subcontractors are held by Batir and now the liquidator. They are separate issues.
If subcontractors have provided Bank Guarantees then the liquidator should have them.
- Subcontractors Alliance and SubbiesUnited would like to get the BATIR creditors together to discuss making subbies charges so any Batir creditors, please contact me on support@subbiesunited.com.au'
Les Williams today said that every developer or construction industry client knows that when they award a contract to a builder, 85% of the work will be completed by subcontractors. Yet when the builder collapses, as has happened here, the client bears no responsibility for the contractor or the losses sustained by subcontractors.
In turn, right or wrong, they usually make inflated set-off claims to the liquidator. In most cases the liquidator doesn’t investigate the claims and the subbies get done over again.
Developers/clients do however, have developments incorporating materials and labour (work in progress) provided by subcontractors that they benefit from.
How do we justify the QLD taxpayer benefiting from losses to other QLD taxpayers and employers?
How much longer will the targeting of subcontractors and suppliers be allowed to occur. I call on the QLD government to bear the cost of appointing new and credible contractors to complete BATIR’s projects, write to all affected BATIR’s subcontractors/suppliers and request they submit Subcontractors Charges and honour them in full.
I will be writing to the Department today seeking that commitment!”
We at SubbiesUnited agree that the Qld Government should pay these subcontractors in full. When it's a private company in Liquidation it's bad enough but when the hand of our Government is in the till, it is time to make a stand for the common sense.
The building industry is a massive gamble. Our money would be safer banging it into the slots or backing a racehorse.
Gold Coast tradies will have to fight to get returns after first report by liquidator into Batir company crash
A report to creditors on Batir Pty Ltd shows the Brisbane-based company owes $2,174,789 with $1.98 million in debt spread across 167 unsecured creditors.
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE CULLEN GROUP COLLAPSE
Some fence and haulage subbies are owed more than $100,000 but much of the debt is shared between plasterers, concreters and landscape suppliers from Yatala south to Chinderah across the Tweed border.
While the amount of money owed is less than the Cullen Group collapse at the Robina Boheme site where total debts are tipped to reach $30 million, many subbies worked on both projects, leaving them facing a financial crisis in the New Year.
SUBBIES LAUNCH LAW SUIT AGAINST CULLEN GROUP
Liquidator Thomas Dawson has identified Batir Pty Ltd had $1.6 million in assets but a large chunk of that money should be distributed among preferential creditors and pay for the liquidation.
Acquire Trade Creditor business development manager Nathan Wrobel, who is working with insured subbies, doubts those without insurance protection will emerge financially unscathed by the liquidation.
“With that amount of assets I think not many of the uninsured creditors will be paid,” Mr Wrobel told the Bulletin.
CONSTRUCTION PLAYER FORCED TO CLOSE GOLD COAST SITES
“Contractors with Trade Credit policies can be reimbursed up to 90 per cent of their loss with insurers. There are only a handful of clients who are insured.”
Government tender documents reveal Batir had at least nine government contracts last year valued at almost $6.4 million, including social housing projects at Burleigh, Tugun and Labrador.
The State Opposition has questioned the due diligence undertaken by the Government on the company but National Creditor Insurance debtor documents obtained by the Bulletin give no hint that Batir was failing to pay its bills last year.
Subbies, lawyers and consumer watchers say the reason for the company’s financial failure remains a mystery.
Mr Wrobel said insurers had been unable to obtain much information on Batir, unlike many other developers, where management accounts and financials were provided.
“Which is why the underwriters were not hit as hard as they were with Cullen as they limited their exposure due to the lack of information,” Mr Wrobel said.
“Their site on the Gold Coast Highway at Burleigh was moving extremely slow and there were general concerns over that site and progress for months.”
The two-storey townhouse development at Burleigh was due to be finished by December and once worked stopped several tradesmen were spotted collecting sheets of plasterwood.
Subcontractors Alliance spokesman Les Williams yesterday urged tradesmen employed on the Batir sites to contact his group through its Facebook page.
“We want them to contact Subcontractors Alliance with the view to making sure they get their subcontractor charges submitted for the project,” Mr Williams said.
Subbies owned money could put in a claim to the liquidator but also send a request for the State Government for payment.
“We’re hoping we can talk to the department to facilitate them being paid. But they would have to do it legally by putting in subcontracting charges,” Mr Williams said.
Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni, who suspended payments to Batir and took back possession of all sites after being told of their position, has encouraged subbies to seek independent legal advice and lodge a subcontractor charge.
Mr Dawson, who met with creditors at DCL Advisory’s Fortitude Valley offices yesterday, is yet to determine how much subbies will receive from Batir’s winding up.
“It’s too early to say, unfortunately. We’ve only been involved for three weeks. We have to do the best that we can and see what we come up with,” Mr Dawson said.