John Susa (Englobo):
Welcome everybody. We’re here today to talk about HomeBuilder and the DKSN project here in the ACT. We’ve got two Ministers here today. We’ve got Senator Zed Seselja and we’ve got the Federal Minister for Housing, Michael Sukkar. So welcome everybody, we’re hoping that the rain stays away. Today is a continuing development of our project out here and construction is proceeding at a rate of knots and HomeBuilder has been an intricate part to ensure that this project started and is completed in time to meet the HomeBuilder obligations. When the uncertainty occurred last year, your first thought is putting everything on hold and ensuring that everyone is planning for the worst but the HomeBuilder program really accelerated sales and forced us to really commence and get the construction industry moving and that’s where we are today. So I might hand over to Michael.
Minister Sukkar:
Well thanks very much for being here. It’s wonderful to join my great friend and Senator for the ACT, Minister Zed Seselja. And of course, John from Englobo and Dominic who is a first homebuyer here at the DKSN stage one development. As John outlined, it’s projects like this that have been spurred on by the decisive action that the Morrison Government took last year in putting together the HomeBuilder program. A $25,000 grant to encourage people to purchase a new home. And why a new home? Because we know that there are up to one million jobs in Australia that are directly linked to the residential construction market. Again, John mentioned that it is projects like this that have been spurred on. Indeed, stage two of DKSN which is 198 dwellings, hit its pre-sale targets with significant assistance from the HomeBuilder program since its announcement in June last year.
So bringing projects like this that wouldn’t otherwise happen means hundreds of jobs are created and that’s what’s happened throughout the country. The HomeBuilder program has been exceptional. We’ve now seen over 80,000 applications around Australia which has far exceeded our wildest expectations, indeed our greatest hopes have been exceeded. Here in the ACT, we’ve seen more than 2,000 projects being commenced under the HomeBuilder program. Its projects like this that represent part of that 2,000 but this is happening literally around the country. Importantly, when we think about the jobs that are created, it’s not just those that are driving the trucks and doing the form work that you see right next to us in this stage two, but it’s on single home projects, on renovations throughout the country, chippies, plumbers, all the way through to the manufacturing workers who make the bricks, the tiles and the glass. The timber mill workers who make the frames and the trusses. That’s why this industry employs up to one million people, 5 per cent of GDP, $100 billion a year and why it is so important to the economy.
So it’s wonderful to hear and to see the physical embodiment of this program and indeed to meet first homebuyers like Dominic who have also been spurred on by the HomeBuilder grant. We’ve now got first homebuyers at eleven year highs. First homebuyers are squarely in the sites of the Morrison Government, whether it’s through the HomeBuilder program or the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. We’ve seen more than 200 residents of the ACT taking up the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme in the last year as well. So helping first homebuyers get into the market, support the million Australians who work in the residential construction industry, it’s a win-win. I’d like to ask Zed to say a few words now.
Zed Seselja:
Great to be with you, Michael. Great to be with John and well done to DOMA and Englobo for putting together this project. I recall many, many months ago when we were still coming to grips with the Covid health and economic crisis and being approached by representatives of the local building industry here in Canberra and talking about the cliff that was coming and raising these issues with Michael Sukkar and with the Treasurer and the Prime Minister and I think that the response has been outstanding. Here in the ACT, to see those 2,000 HomeBuilder projects going ahead is huge for the local industry. Building and construction – like in many other parts of the country – here in Canberra, it is the biggest private sector employer along with retail, and so we know how important it is to tens of thousands of families in Canberra and the region who rely on the building and construction industry to make sure that they have a living and that they have a roof over their head. So it has been, I think, an outstanding success and we’re getting great feedback here in Canberra and today’s example of that is one of many, many projects happening here in Canberra and indeed right around the country.
Journalist:
2,000 grants have been given in Canberra. How does that compare to other jurisdictions?
Minister Sukkar:
Well we estimated when we set up HomeBuilder that the ACT would have about 500 grants so it’s four times greater than Treasury’s expectations. There are a number of jurisdictions where that’s much higher than what we’re seeing our expectations exceeded than other jurisdictions. But in absolute terms of course, the larger states have the larger numbers, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. But as far as punching above its weight, the ACT being four times higher than what Treasury expected when we set up the program, is a really phenomenal result.
Journalist:
And you have no concerns about being able to pay all of that out?
Minister Sukkar:
No, there’s no concerns. The wonderful things about the HomeBuilder program being a demand driven program is that from our perspective, the bigger the better. Every single grant unblocks hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional private investment and indeed the average is about $300,000. So a $25,000 grant up to 31 December or a $15,000 between 1st January and 31st March, unlocks an additional $300,000 of private investment. So from our perspective, the bigger the better. We weren’t expecting it to be this big but now that it is this big, we’re relying on excellent companies like Englobo and small builders around the country who are saying that we’re working really hard to keep up with the orders but that’s a really great problem to have because it’s keeping so many people employed.
Journalist:
And is there any consideration about any further extension of the scheme?
Minister Sukkar:
No, my message to Australians who are thinking about purchasing a new home or undertaking a substantial renovation is to do it now. This program runs until 31st March and as we’ve said consistently, all of our fiscal support in relation to the pandemic is targeted and it’s time-limited and that will be absolutely the case with HomeBuilder.
Journalist:
Just on some other topics as well. First of all on Kevin Andrews, do you think that getting rid of him was the right decision?
Minister Sukkar:
Well look, firstly what I would say about Kevin Andrews is that he’s been an exceptional representative of his community, he’s been an exceptional representative of the Liberal Party and in a thirty year career – which is remarkable in itself – he has scaled the heights of being a Cabinet Minister in the Howard Government, a Cabinet Minister in the Abbott Government, he was a senior player in ensuring that the Coalition returned to government in 2013. So there’s not much that Kevin Andrews hasn’t done and in a thirty year career, all I want to do is thank him for the amazing job that he has done. Nothing lasts forever including political careers but I think we can all say that thirty years is a phenomenal effort.
Journalist:
Does it show that the party is actually shifting away from conservative politics and opting for more moderate representatives?
Minister Sukkar:
No.
Journalist:
No? Why not? Why doesn’t it show that the party is shifting away from more conservative voices?
Minister Sukkar:
Well I’m not going to get into the ins and outs in the sense that this was a democratic preselection, we are a democratic organisation. We entrust our members to choose who the representatives are. But I don’t think that after a thirty year career, that I would look at the decision of the preselectors as anything other than that it was time for renewal in that seat. We respect the members and I know that everybody in the Liberal Party in Victoria absolutely commends and thanks Kevin for what he’s done and will continue to do for the remainder of this term of Parliament. We’ve got a lot of important work to do, Kevin is a very important part of the team and he’ll keep doing that until the next election.
Journalist:
Do you feel that the right is losing its grip on the party?
Minister Sukkar:
Look I don’t accept the premise of the question. Again, Kevin has had a remarkable career. He’s done nearly everything, there’s very big shoes to fill for his successor, Keith Wolahan. He’s an outstanding candidate, he will serve his community and represent the party extremely well and if he can do half as much as Kevin Andrews has done then I think that everybody in the Liberal Party will be very happy.
Journalist:
Just one more from me. New announcements show that political parties have received $1.1 billion from hidden donors. Do reforms need to happen to improve the transparency of donations?
Minister Sukkar:
Look, political parties should follow the rules. The rules are laid out, we should follow them, we do follow them. The Coalition parties do follow the rules in disclosing donations as required. That’s what our job is and we always follow those rules.
Journalist:
But do we need reforms to increase the transparency?
Minister Sukkar:
I think that the current rules that are in place ensure that political parties are required to disclose large donations and indeed not so large donations. I think that the real question is ensuring that political parties meet those requirements and we have a very proud record of ensuring that we meet all of the requirements.
Thanks very much.