The state's building commissioner will issue a stop work order to a Newcastle construction site after viewing "horrendous" levels of safety on an inspection blitz in the city.
NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler attended building sites on the corner of Watt and Hunter Streets in Newcastle and 106 Brunker Road, Adamstown on July 6.
The Watt Street site was closed after the builder was terminated by the developer, while Mr Chandler will issue the building stop work order on the Brunker Road site on July 11.
Mr Chandler didn't mince words describing the level of safety on the Adamstown job.
"It was just a nightmare," he said. "The work was being performed very unsafely.
"The supervisor in charge had no idea who the certifier was for the project. He really shouldn't have been in charge of running a postage stamp.
"The first thing I saw was young children between about 6 and 10 sitting on the scaffolding having afternoon tea.
"I said to him 'what sort of moron are you?'"
Mr Chandler said Watt Street was a "lesser situation" as work had already ceased by the time he visited, but still described the job safety as "horrendous".
"The building doesn't appear to have complied with Australian standards for concrete construction," he said.
"The post-tensioned concrete hasn't been completed and grouted.
"I had never seen an extension cord hard-wired into a switch board before. Normally it would have a plug on the end of it. I have no understanding as to why they did that.
"The builder had been terminated by the developer and rightfully so.
"A new builder is taking over and the first thing they will have to do is develop a very thorough remediation plan."
Keith Stronach is developing the Watt Street site. He said a new builder had been appointed, who would address the safety issues.
Mr Chandler said he was shocked at the state of the sites, and will return to Newcastle soon to visit "risky" projects.
"Wherever there's a high number of safety incidents, there is always a clear pointer to the likelihood of construction defects," he said.
"This has got to be a lesson for developers who think they can still buy builders from the bottom of the barrel and cut corners."
