Minister Sukkar:
Inaudible…HomeBuilder has really exceeded our expectations but, speaking to builders like Lloyd [Lloyd Payne – General Manager, Fresh Homes] today here at Allendale, essentially what it’s meaning is that there forward orders increase, they’ve got more job security for their staff and all the guys on site – and increasingly some women on site – in all the trades, have certainty in their jobs which is what it’s all about. The obvious additional benefit to supporting those million jobs in the residential construction industry is that first homebuyers are now at an eleven year high and the feedback that we’re receiving is that for so many first homebuyers, the HomeBuilder grant is really the difference between maybe renting for a couple more years and buying. So we’ve converted a whole lot of renters into first homebuyers, supported a million jobs and the sheer size of the program now will mean that the industry will remain busy now at least until the middle of next year which, given where we were this time last year, is a remarkable achievement.
Journalist:
Is there any danger that it’s gone the other way, that there’s a danger of overheating the building industry?
Minister Sukkar:
The signs at the moment are that it’s very busy but manageable. Part of the reason is that there’ll be a transference of workforce from the commercial side of construction in to residential so it will soak up that excess capacity in the commercial side. So the industry as a whole will be very healthy but we’re confident, the Master Builders Association, the Housing Industry Association, are really confident that there’s enough capacity to do the work. It will just mean that everyone’s very busy but that’s a great problem to have in light of where we were this time last year.
Journalist:
And obviously a program that’s got a lot of demand and that was set up for the pandemic. Is there any way to tapper it as an ongoing program as we move into the future?
Minister Sukkar:
Well there’s no intention to extend this further than the 31st March. We obviously have extended it from the 31st December to the end of March, we’ve tapered the payment from $25,000 for projects to the 31st to now $15,000 so we’re trying to ensure that orderly transition away but what you don’t want is a permanent grant of this type. The industry will need to stand on its own two feet and we’re confident that with the pipeline of work now, seeing the industry through to the middle of next year that they’re absolutely going to be able to do that.
Journalist:
And what about this industry, do you know much about their numbers with JobKeeper or has this program really kept the construction industry off JobKeeper?
Minister Sukkar:
So Lloyd’s got a very interesting perspective and we were just talking about it. The residential construction industry did, early on, access JobKeeper quite significantly, but have graduated from it much faster than other industries. I can get you the exact statistics if you want. It feels like a long time ago now but in June last year when we announced the program, the expectation was not just businesses going on JobKeeper but building companies not making it to the other side. A lot of those businesses are now graduating which is a good thing and probably one of the sectors that’s been able to transition off JobKeeper the fastest.
Journalist:
And beyond March and the end of JobKeeper, is there anything that you can throw at us, that the Government are looking at, any targeted support?
Minister Sukkar:
Well the Morrison Government is always looking to support first homebuyers into the market. We announced before Christmas, an expansion of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme which enables people to buy a house with a 5 per cent deposit. We allocated an additional 10,000 places for people who purchased a new home. So the scheme allows you to buy an established or a new home. We put together 10,000 additional places for new homes only, to support the construction industry even more. That’s been taken up very enthusiastically, it’s now over 40 per cent subscribed so we’re looking at programs like that that do the same two things that I’ve spoken about which is help first homebuyers get into their home but also provide more stimulus into the construction industry. So we’ll keep an eye on it.