The State Liberals, if elected next year, will scrap controversial building laws that require annual health and safety audits on all commercial buildings.

The move was one of five building and construction policy initiatives released yesterday that Opposition Leader Rene Hidding said would save the industry $3 million a year.

Under the Building Act 2000, owners of all non-domestic buildings must display an annual certificate of compliance with all health and safety regulations.

Mr Hidding said the skills shortage would not worsen as the board only provided specialist training and struggled to spend the $2 million it was paid yearly.

The Opposition planned to get rid of compulsory indemnity insurance for all commercial projects because every engineer, architect and sub-contractor already got individual insurance.

Master Builders Association of Tasmania executive director Christopher Atkins said: "The policies will stimulate further investment activity by decreasing construction industry overheads and compliance costs, which will translate into savings for clients."

"The HIA welcomes initiatives that will remove the strangling effect of red tape, reduce the cost of putting more houses on the ground and address the skills shortage," Mr Reardon said.

He said industry self-regulation could invite disasters such as those seen in Third World countries where hundreds were killed because of blocked fire escapes or building collapses.

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