Last week, we all saw news of the horrifying fire in Grenfell Tower, London, and our thoughts are with all of those affected.

Worrying details are coming to light. A recent refurbishment added cladding to the outside of the building made of materials known to help fires spread very rapidly in high-rise buildings.

This same flammable cladding is still used in Australia. It’s claimed that it helped fuel a fire in Melbourne only just a few years ago.

We urgently need to make sure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen in Australia. This cladding is banned in the U.S. and Europe -- and with your help, we could get it banned in Australia too.

Will you please demand the Turnbull government reform the national building code and ban this flammable cladding now?

We can’t allow our politicians to sit on their hands while property developers are allowed to cut corners for a quick buck -- putting the most vulnerable people in our society at grave risk.

In 2014, a cigarette burning on an 8th floor balcony of the Lacrosse building in Docklands, Melbourne started a fire that ran up the cladding to the 21st floor in just 11 minutes.

An investigation into the Melbourne fire found that the cladding was the direct cause of the speed and intensity of the spread of that fire. Thankfully no one died as a result. But the fire brigade said that the fire could have claimed lives in Melbourne under different weather conditions.

The Guardian reported that fire-resistant panels cost a mere $7 more than the ones that the flammable ones responsible for both fires.

And in fact, the former head of Victoria’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade has said that he would not allow his children to live in that apartment block as it remains a fire risk.

Still, very little has been done to stop the use of this cladding. Authorities have been aware of the safety threat for 7 years -- the London fire should serve as a big wake up call for something to be done urgently.

Demand that the Turnbull government reform the national building code and ban this flammable cladding now.

Together, we’ve stood up to corporations putting profits ahead of people’s safety before. After the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed, hundreds of thousands of us forced several major clothing retailers to sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord, legally binding them to protect workers.

Parliament has a responsibility to make sure a Grenfell-like disaster doesn’t occur in Australia and your voice could help make it happen.

Will you please demand the Turnbull government reform the national building code and ban this flammable cladding now?

More information