“What we had today was a response to that problem which failed to address any of the concerns of the customers or a plan to address this issue with industry.
“This is really an unfolding disaster, and we need urgent action to move forward.”
He also insisted the state government’s $10 million interest-free loan facility, announced in January, was insufficient given the immense scale of the issue and the number of West Australians affected.
Treasurer Rita Saffioti said the facility was not set up for big builders like Nicheliving.
“The Nicheliving example is a bigger example than what this facility was developed to do,” she said.
“This facility was very much targeted at small builders and was capped at five homes.
“We very much sympathise with the home builders, people who put their trust into a company to deliver their home, and we’re very much seeing how we can try and get these homes completed.”
Love was flanked by half a dozen distressed Nicheliving customers — including Ellis — all of whom claimed they had been waiting years for the completion of their home.
Ellis said work proceeded as planned for the first 12 months, but then the build stalled and the communication ceased.
The home remains in lockup as it did almost two years ago, but Ellis told the media there was no kitchen top, no flooring and water was now seeping into the home — leaving mould in every room.
She said she had taken on a second job to make ends meet and pay the bills on a home she cannot yet live in.
Kathy Ellis has been forced to live in a camper trailer after her home was delayed.Credit: Jesinta Burton
She claimed she sent the company 48 emails in the past six months alone, but her calls for assistance had fallen on deaf ears.
She also penned a desperate letter to the office of Commerce Minister Sue Ellery pleading for help in 2023, which was met with a direction to contact 24-hour crisis support service Lifeline.
“And I called Lifeline because I needed help. It didn’t help,” she said.
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The parliamentary secretary told parliament Ellery had requested an urgent meeting with Nicheliving’s directors, which was due to take place next week.
The construction industry is still reeling from a string of high-profile company collapses following what has been dubbed “the profitless boom”, a period of building activity buoyed by COVID stimulus.
The state and federal government stimulus — which attracted more than five times more applicants than anticipated — drove labour and materials cost hikes at a time when supply chains were constrained, pricing builders out of jobs.
It also left behind hundreds of stalled home builds, costing families tens of thousands of dollars in mortgage and rent costs and leaving them in limbo.
Nicheliving has been contacted for comment.
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