Coper theft crisis threatens to derail the housing projects of Australia – realestate.com.au

An Aussie electrician says that unbridled copper theft is combined in the new housing, because there are increasingly the target of brutal thieves who want to cash in valuable materials.

Jay Kinnell, an electrician who is working on relieving Melbourne’s housing shortage, has revealed that this year he was already hit five times by theft of copper wire, which causes project delays and financial voltage.

Kinnell told Yahoo News that thieves regularly strip copper from half -finished houses in the middle of the night, which adds further pressure to an already stretched industry.

“Air conditioning boys are flooded, but electricians are probably the worst because our cables are worth the most money, and it is easiest to pull out of a house,” he said.

The most recent incident took place at a construction site in Preston, in the northeast of Melbourne.

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He shared his frustration on social media. Source: @Jay.The.sparky/Tiktok

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Although the builder’s insurance usually covers the theft, Kinnell said that he often has to do the work again at a reduced rate to help builders affected by crime.

“We work with a partial loss, but it certainly leaves us a ‘break-even’ repair,” he explained, and expressed his frustration with the impact of illegal behavior.

Copper theft is a growing problem throughout Australia, where construction sites are excellent goals because of non -controlled materials that were left at night.

Last week CCTV images won a thief disguised with a box above his head that steals $ 40,000 of copper wire and equipment from a construction site near Ballarat, Victoria. Last year, thieves were dressed as traditions on the camera that steal copper from a Queensland construction site.

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Alleged copper thieves were caught on CCTV last year while they rob an EneGex site. Authorities say it is a recurring problem in Queensland. Source: 9News

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Another traditional in Coffs Harbor, NSW, lost $ 300 after thieves tore piping under a house.

The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that Metal Theft Australia costs more than $ 100 million a year, with Queensland experiencing a triple increase in crime since 2020. Copper is usually stolen from empty houses, construction sites and infrastructure, leading to a large disruption, so that the housing crisis has grown with the increased costs and project delays.

According to experts from the industry, thieves generally steal copper because of the high scrap value, so that it is sold at non -regulated scrap yards and online market places for cash.