Small business of a strata minister missing in action

We may be jumping the gun here but our fears that strata would be taking second place to small business haven’t only been confirmed, they’ve been compounded.

You may recall that in the post Gladys NSW cabinet reshuffle we were concerned when Miranda MP Eleni Petinos’ first ministry wasn’t just the “training wheels” department of Fair Trading but that she was also asked to look after Small Business.

Actually, that’s the wrong way around.  She was given Small Business and asked to also look after Fair Trading.

Given her family background, small business is a perfect fit.  But to give a first-time minister two portfolios – the lesser of them being Fair Trading, of which strata is part – is verging on contempt.

Now we know she’s new in the job and small business is one of the keys to the post-pandemic recovery.  But there are about one million people living in strata in NSW, so it’s a pretty big deal.

We also know that there are 135 proposals to reform strata law going through the system right now.

Short-term holiday letting is about to become an issue once more with international borders re-opening.  Is the register ready? How about the code of conduct? Will the fire safety regulations be enforced and if so, how stringently?  

On top of that, pet by-laws are causing serious consternation as strata committees concoct strange and complex rules to try to side-step the fundamental law that says you can’t have a blanket ban on pets.

And a by-law restricting non-residents from running short-term holiday lets has been blown out of the water on what is pretty much a technicality – but one which sets a precedent for all the other rules with similar wording.

Well, you’ll be glad to know that Minister Petinos is in her office and working away. So far this year she has issued 10 different press releases on various matters.  Eight of them were on small business issues and two on Fair Trading matters.

The two Fair Trading matters were a warning not to deal with event ticket reseller Viagogo and another warning about Valentines Day romance scams. But for strata, there is no love to be found.

What about Property Services Commissioner John Minns. Is he the strata commissioner or isn’t he? No biggie, it would just be nice to know.

The word I hear from Macquarie St is that the Fair Trading’s mandarins are running the show as there is no way Minister Petinos can be brought up to speed on the 55 pieces of legislation in that basket, including Strata, as well as getting small business back on its feet.

So we’d better get used to being ignored again. But hold on tight as it seems strata is now a driverless train.