The Greens want Canberra to finance a $50 million kitty to help affected apartment owners pay for the urgent removal of flammable cladding materials.

The Emergency Cladding Safety Fund is part of a five-point plan the Greens are pushing to address the cladding crisis ahead of the federal election next week.

“Governments are passing the buck and forcing residents to fix the problem, which means more time for another disaster,” Federal Greens MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt says in a statement to insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“This is an emergency. It’s a disaster waiting to happen and we need immediate action.

“The government should step in, fix the cladding now then recoup the cost from developers afterwards. Homeowners being asked to bear insurmountable costs while big developers sit back and count their cash. They shouldn’t be forced to choose between financial ruin and living in danger.”

The five-point plan also calls for a national audit of all high-rise buildings in the country and a ban on the import of “unsafe” flammable cladding as recommended by a Senate inquiry.

Additionally the Building Code should be amended to include a ban on the use of the materials in construction and the Federal Government should consider a new levy on developers to recover the cost of fixing the cladding problem.

The Strata Community Association is backing the Greens’ suggestions.

Pressure is growing at the federal and state level to address the cladding crisis. The Australian Property Institute most recently backed calls for a public register to improve transparency around affected buildings.

At a meeting in February, federal and state building ministers agreed in principle to ban “unsafe” combustible cladding materials in new construction projects.