Minister Michael Sukkar:
Good morning. With Christmas behind us and after a really difficult couple of years, many Australians now will be quietly taking the opportunity to reconnect with friends and family over the summer break and everyone in the Morrison Government wishes Australians well in reconnecting and getting back to some level of normality in their lives. The obvious ongoing challenges of COVID‑19 remain but our strong message to Australians is to remain calm and optimistic about the future. Calm in the sense that Australia is one of the most well‑prepared nations in the world. We have vaccine rates at 93 per cent single dose, 90 per cent double dose and with the progression of booster vaccines as well means we’re in a great position. And our health system is prepared so we encourage Australians to remain calm and optimistic but at the same time, be appropriately cautious. Maintain social distancing where you can, wear a mask where you can’t maintain social distancing. Ultimately, just practice common sense. Australians have been doing that throughout COVID‑19 and we would encourage them to continue to do so.
Over this summer and into the new year as Australia re‑opens, and has been reopening over recent weeks and months, we’ve seen Australia’s economic recovery gain pace. Australians saw that the unemployment rate drop to 4.6 per cent in recent statistics released by the ABS. That highlights just the momentum of the Australian economy. It is building up as we reopen, as we get back to business as usual. Today we released final data for the HomeBuilder program. The HomeBuilder program, which was put in place to support first homebuyers, to support the residential construction industry which has seen 137,000 HomeBuilder projects and – according to Master Builders Australia – supporting $120 billion of economic activity and some 374,000 direct jobs. The HomeBuilder program has played a huge role in the broader economic recovery which is gaining pace as Australia opens up into the new year. Another reason why Australians should remain optimistic about the year ahead and, as I said, calm about the ongoing challenges of COVID‑19 which we have done really well internationally.
Journalist:
How much has the HomeBuilder program actually cost taxpayers?
Minister Sukkar:
The HomeBuilder program now will be north of $2.5 billion. It was a program that we estimated in the first instance would be just shy of $700 million. As the program grew, that just meant the economic activity for the nation was greater. So, a $2.5 billion investment from the Morrison Government, according to Master Builders Australia, delivered $120 billion of economic activity. The larger the program became, the larger the economic dividend for Australia became and we’re very pleased with the size of the scheme, how successful it was in the end and that it supported 374,000 direct jobs.
Journalist:
Just on the booster program, there are around 1,000 aged care facilities that have not yet received their booster shots. The Government hasn’t made the same mistakes as last time has it?
Minister Sukkar:
The Government is very committed to making sure that the booster program maintains the success that we saw towards the end of the vaccine program. We’ve seen Australia with some of the highest vaccination rates in the world. That is a great success on any measure. We have been proactive in making sure we get stocks of those booster shots. There’ll always be logistical issues with getting those boosters out to where they need to be, but my advice and my understanding is that the booster rollout is progressing in a very successful way. Where there are issues, we’re working to make sure those boosters are getting to the places they need to be.
Journalist:
Are you concerned though that some of those people are being left vulnerable to Omicron?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, there is a baseline of benefit that all Australians will get from being double dosed. Double dose vaccination provides a high level of support and a high level of protection for Australians. Those vulnerable Australians who are becoming due for a booster, we’re working very hard to get a booster shot in their arms as soon as possible. But again, we will be saying to all Australians firstly to get vaccinated, it’s the best protection you can give yourself against Omicron or any other variant and we’ll continue to work hard to make sure we get those booster shots out to those who are due.
Journalist:
Is it hypocritical that the Prime Minister has joined TikTok after earlier saying that it links right back to China and is it a sign the Coalition is a bit desperate for those younger votes?
Minister Sukkar:
No, I don’t think so. I mean TikTok is another platform. I’ve been criticised from time to time by family members for scrolling through TikTok myself. It’s another platform and in the end, why do any politicians engage in social media? It’s to speak to the Australian people and that’s why we do it. You’ve got to meet the Australian people on the platform that they use. I’m a pretty avid Facebook user. I suspect in a former life I probably wouldn’t have been as much but when you’re in public life and you want to connect with people and ensure that your message gets out, you’ve got to use the platforms that they’re using. I can’t say I’ve posted on TikTok myself but maybe I’ll be there with him.
Journalist:
Is the current COVID situation risking derailment of Australia’s economic recovery?
Minister Sukkar:
As I’ve just outlined, Australia is one of the few countries that is gaining economically. We’ve got unemployment at an unthinkable level of 4.6 per cent. If you think about where Australia was last year, jobs growth is now so strong and confidence enhancing and improving. There’s no doubt that the ongoing risks of COVID‑19, the Omicron variant or indeed any variant, does pose a risk to that confidence but we’re not seeing any significant evidence of that thus far. I think the reason why we’re not seeing any evidence is that Australians have seen that we as a nation, as a Federal Government, have risen to the occasion and addressed these challenges when they’ve come along. Whether it was COVID‑19 initially, whether it was the Delta variant and now Omicron. I think there is general confidence that we will do what has to be done to keep Australians safe, to keep the economic recovery going and that’s why I don’t think we’ve seen a significant impact thus far.
Journalist:
Does there need to be a reduction in the quarantine periods for workers to help businesses stay open?
Minister Sukkar:
I think business and indeed all Australians have been called upon in some instances. There’s a review going on as to how we treat close contacts, how we treat casual contacts. There is a process through the National Cabinet to reach agreement between states and territories on how we classify each of those and how we treat each of those from an isolate and quarantine point of view. I think it makes sense to have a national position on that. Ultimately it will be a decision of the National Cabinet to make but that consistency would instil confidence and would assure Australians that they know what they need to do if there a casual contact, if there a close contact. I’m hopeful that that process will create a uniform process.
Journalist:
The Victorian Government is starting to look at Rapid Antigen Testing for close contacts, taking preference from PCR testing. Do you support other states going down that route and dropping PCR testing for close contacts?
Minister Sukkar:
In the first instance when you drive around, in my case Melbourne, but also many other parts of Australia where you see long ques of people wanting to get tested, particularly in the last week or so. That has been largely driven by testing requirements associated with holiday travel. We would encourage states to drop the requirements for testing for holiday travellers. It’s clearly clogging up the system. We believe that the reasons for testing in relation to things like whether you’re a close contact and whether you’ve got symptoms or have been advised by a medical professional to get a test. South Australia have announced that they’ve decided to drop the requirement for the testing of interstate travellers to their state. We’d encourage other states and territories who currently have that requirement, to do so because it’s an unnecessary burden, in our view, on the pathology and testing system. It’s obviously a huge inconvenience for people who are lining up for hours and hours trying to get a test before they get on a flight to go on holiday and is not informed by any medical advice.
Journalist:
But if you need to get tested though, would you encourage looking at Rapid Antigen Testing over PCR?
Minister Sukkar:
I’d encourage any sensible, appropriate and medically advised ways of getting that testing done more quickly, getting the results back more quickly meaning people can get on with their lives more quickly.
Journalist:
Just back on the HomeBuilder. Can you tell us what the total cost of the program was and the return on investment?
Minister Sukkar:
The total cost will be north of $2.5 billion. We’re still in the process and projects will still be rolled out between now and 2023 so the final program costs won’t be known until 2023 but we think in the order of $2.5 billion. Master Builders Australia, in modelling that they have released today, show that the program has led to $120 billion of economic activity and supported 374,000 direct jobs. On any measure, a $2.5 billion investment by the Morrison Government resulting in a $120 billion economic dividend, supporting 374,000 jobs in an industry that, let’s not forget, was on its knees in March 2020 when there were no new home sales quite rightly, quite understandably with the lack of confidence and uncertainty that had hit Australians in the face of COVID‑19. We are remarkably pleased with the results and it’s played a huge role in the broader economic recovery that we've seen which has led to the unemployment rate being now at 4.6 per cent.
Journalist:
Was the program at all marred by labour shortages and supply chain issues during COVID?
Minister Sukkar:
No. I mean we've seen supply chain issues throughout the economy and indeed every nation in the world has seen supply chain issues and labour shortages and labour issues have been seen throughout the economy too, all the way from retail and hospitality through to manufacturing and you name it. The Australian residential construction industry has risen to the occasion and what we've seen in the HomeBuilder program is those builders that have committed to building homes are by and large delivering on those. There are slightly longer timeframes for some buyers but they’re generally willing to accept that given the fact that they’ve been able to purchase a new home in many cases. The program has been a huge success. It's delivered what we wanted and that was to underpin the residential construction industry which employs 1 million Australians, and in the process, has led to a re‑entering or re‑emergence into the market of first homebuyers. We now have first homebuyers at their highest levels for nearly 15 years. That’s not something that we envisaged when we put this program in place but in combination with the Home Guarantee Scheme and other programs put in place by the Morrison Government to encourage first homebuyers, it’s been complemented by HomeBuilder in delivering that phenomenal result. 177,000 first homebuyers last year, in a year, compared to a long‑run average of between 100,000 and 110,000 so quite a remarkable result and HomeBuilder played a huge role in that.
Journalist:
Weren’t the initial predictions that only 30,000‑odd homes would be built as a result?
Minister Sukkar:
Initial modelling for HomeBuilder was that it would be 27,000. 27,000 projects, houses. We were very cautious in that modelling. We obviously wanted HomeBuilder to be as big as it possibly could be but in the modelling we undertook at the beginning of COVID‑19, 27,000 was what we expected. We ended up with 135,000. We obviously saw that ratcheting up throughout the year. That was pleasing, that was partly a result of the improving economic environment. Programs like JobKeeper which just put a floor under the economy, gave it a huge amount of confidence, that also enabled it to accelerate. The bigger the program got, the happier we were as a government. It meant more people into homes, it meant more jobs for the residential construction industry and it meant a bigger economic dividend for the nation. As I said, according to Master Builders Australia, a $120 billion dividend for the Australian economy from a $2.5 billion investment, is quite a remarkable outcome.