Bill Shorten is calling for an urgent parliamentary hearing into the cladding material used in Australian buildings after London's deadly Grenfell Tower fire.
The Opposition Leader believes a Senate committee inquiry into non-conforming building products should broaden its scope after the high-rise tragedy that has killed at least 58 people and put many dozens more in hospital.
British Prime Minister Theresa May conceded the official response to the fire "was not good enough" as the death toll rose, making it the country's deadliest fire since World War II.
Mr Shorten's call comes amid revelations that hundreds of Australian buildings are believed to be cloaked with similarly flammable material.
"This is a shocking tragedy," Mr Shorten said. "I don't want to see a similar tragedy occur here. These tragedies must be prevented from occurring."
Fairfax Media last week revealed the Australian Building Codes Board had been aware of the safety threat since at least 2010.
A letter sent to the board in June 2010 by a fire safety consultant said aluminium composite panels had been widely installed in Australia for about 25 years. But the panels did not comply with building regulations because they were combustible.
After receiving the letter, the board started arranging to send a national advisory note warning the industry about cladding requirements. However, those negotiations stalled in the Building Codes Committee in 2012 after a draft letter was produced.
Labor senator Chris Ketter, who chairs the committee, said he wanted to call the codes board, other building experts and fire authorities to appear.
"People have a right to live in homes and buildings that are safe," he said. "Governments have a responsibility to ensure building safety standards are met."
An ongoing audit has identified at least 20 buildings in Melbourne with non-compliant cladding, including the Lacrosse apartments in Docklands, which was engulfed by a major fire in November 2014.
The inquiry is scheduled to report in October.
The death toll from the London disaster now exceeds that of the Bradford stadium blaze, which killed 56 people in 1985.
Ms May, already under intense political pressure following her poor result in this month's general election, has been widely criticised for her response to the crisis. She was jeered by protesters when she visited local residents at the weekend.
Speaking after meeting with victims and their families at No. 10 Downing Street, Ms May conceded the official response had fallen short.
"Frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough," she said.
She has announced the cost of legal representation for victims at the public inquiry will be met by the government, and also ordered more staff to go into the area around Grenfell Tower to assist co-ordination of the relief effort.
The Queen, who visited survivors and emergency workers on Friday, said Britain had proved "resolute in the face of adversity" after being put to the test by the tragedy and a string of deadly Islamist attacks in London and Manchester.
In a statement to mark her official birthday, she said the celebration must be muted in recognition of the "very sombre national mood".
With Reuters
