Peter Stefanovic:
Let’s return to Canberra now. Joining us is the Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar. Good to see you, Michael, thanks for joining us this morning. Just on some numbers, you’ve announced 11,367 new homes and rebuilds under the HomeBuilder scheme. The goal was 20,000 though so you’re someway short?
Minister Sukkar:
Well no, Pete. Given the way in which the scheme operates, we weren’t really expecting to get to this level probably until mid-November so it’s tracking well ahead of our expectations. There was also – very pleasingly – more data that confirms just how successful the HomeBuilder program has been. It was released by the HIA yesterday which shows that in the first four months since HomeBuilder has been in place, we’ve seen a 49.8 per cent increase in new home sales when compared to the previous four and indeed, we’ve now got new home sales on a month-by-month basis higher, not only pre-pandemic, but higher than any month in the last two years. The HomeBuilder program was designed to get the housing industry at least back to where it was at pre-pandemic levels, we never expected that it would actually get to exceeding where the housing market was at pre-pandemic levels so we’re very pleased with how it’s tracking.
Peter Stefanovic:
They are applications though. How many grants have actually been paid-out?
Minister Sukkar:
There’s about 800 that have been paid-out but, Pete, the pay-outs of the grants are guaranteed, they just occur when you reach milestones. We don’t give people the grant on day one when they make the application – ‘here’s a cheque for $25,000’, that’s certainly not how these schemes operate. You get the money when you start the project.
Peter Stefanovic:
But can you apply and still get rejected?
Minister Sukkar:
No, if you apply and you meet all the criteria – provided you met that criteria – you’ll absolutely get the grant. The reason why we’ve seen new home sales increase so dramatically since the scheme has been put in place is that people have that surety that they will be obtaining the grant. That is what’s been the catalyst for people to do it and let’s remember that this scheme is about new home sales. That’s what the metric is that I’m looking at because new home sales is the things that drives jobs in the residential construction industry that employs hundreds of thousands of Australians. So again, not my data, HIA data which shows that since HomeBuilder, 49.8 per cent increase. We’re very pleased.
Peter Stefanovic:
But the 11,367 applications, will all of those be given grants or can they still be rejected?
Minister Sukkar:
I’d expect so.
Peter Stefanovic:
So they can still be rejected?
Minister Sukkar:
Well if you don’t ever start the project, you’ll be rejected. You’ve got to actually start the house, you’ve got to lay the slab. In most states, you’ve pretty well got to start earth works, at that point you get the payment. So provided that you’ve applied, you meet the criteria and you eventually start the project, you’ll get the grant when you commence. That’s how this operates. This argument out there that somehow people would walk into the State Revenue Office, fill-out a piece of paper and get a $25,000 cheque, that that’s somehow the test of whether the program works or not is, I think, bizarre. No, you get the grant when you start the house because why are we giving people a grant of taxpayer’s money? Because it employs hundreds of thousands of people to build those homes. So again, Treasury estimates are that we’ll have a program that supports 27,000 projects. I think that now that there’s no doubt that we’ll exceed that but that certainly 27,000 is what we’re expecting at the very minimum. Again, if there’s one problem with the scheme that I’m hearing at the moment, Pete, is that there are builders saying to me, and in fact in my inbox this morning when I woke up there was another two emails saying that we’ve got a good problem to deal with and that is that we’re struggling to get all the work done that we have on the books. I think that if anybody said that to the building industry after the pandemic commenced they would’ve taken that every day of the week.
Peter Stefanovic:
The scheme finishes at the end of the year, that’s not very far away. Will that have to be extended?
Minister Sukkar:
We’re keeping a really close eye on it, the PM has said that. Obviously a scheme that’s working well, that’s supporting the industry, if you look at the Master Builders Association they’ve said that it’s the best stimulus that the industry has seen for a very long time. The HIA, the Property Council, have all basically said that the HomeBuilder program is underpinning the market for them at the moment. All of those factor obviously go in favour of the program because if it’s working, which it clearly is, of course we’d be more favourably disposed to looking at that. But we’ve just got to keep any eye on it, the scheme is still operating until 31 December, we’re keeping a really close eye on it, Pete, and we’ll make a call as that date gets closer.
Peter Stefanovic:
Just onto matters out of Victoria. What would be your message to Daniel Andrews this weekend? A lot of talk about him easing restrictions, a lot of talk about it so far, easing restrictions on Sunday. What would be your message to him?
Minister Sukkar:
Well look, my message is that Victorians are hurting. Lives and livelihoods have been impacted in the most significant way. There have been a couple of occasions in the last fortnight, Pete, where daily cases in New South Wales have been higher than the comparable daily cases in Victoria and yet I was in Sydney yesterday and the city is operating in a Covid-safe way, in fact the whole state is operating in a Covid-safe way. So if New South Wales can do it, my message to the Victorian State Government would be, well it’s not beyond the Victorian State Government to give people their freedom back, let people start their businesses again, see their families again, see their elderly parents, many of whom haven’t seen them for months. In fact I was talking to someone yesterday who lives in a hotspot in Melbourne who has had three days of relative freedom since 27th March, which means that she’s been in her house every day since then effectively for 22 to 23 hours a day. I think that we all understand the significant mental health and other consequences that have led from the hotel quarantine disaster and now is the time for Victoria to take a big step forward.
Peter Stefanovic:
Okay, Michael I can’t let you go without asking you about these talking points, your media talking points that have been released to the media this morning accidentally. Minister Sukkar allegations, okay. It says that as the Minister said “I deny any association with the misuse of parliamentary resources and note I have recently been cleared by the Department of Finance’s independent review”. That’s supposed to be your reaction to questions about that, is that about right?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, Pete, I saw that the talking points had been leaked and I suspect that we’re obviously just so proud of the talking points, we thought that we’d cut out the middle man and get them straight to you, Pete so that’s my only explanation.
Peter Stefanovic:
Okay, I’m going to test you here. The question is, does the Budget do enough for women?
Minister Sukkar:
Pete, anyone around this place will tell you I’m not someone who slavishly follows talking points…interrupted.
Peter Stefanovic:
Come one, give us a go. Give us the three points that you’re supposed to hit.
Minister Sukkar:
It probably hasn’t helped my career that I don’t slavishly follow talking points, Pete so I’m not going to attempt to but if you want me to speak about the Budget and women, I’m very happy to say that I think that it’s extraordinary that the Labor Party would say that women are not just as invested in our economy and tax cuts and jobs for small business. I think that this idea that the Budget ignored women is false. If you look at everything that we did in the Budget, it was about strengthening the economy, it was about jobs, jobs growth, opportunities, apprenticeships. In fact, I do a lot of work with Tradeswomen Australia and was on-site with a female brickie, the first female brickie I must say that I’ve ever met a couple of days ago. So we’re very proud of what this does for all Australians, including women, as Budget and I think that it’s a bit strange that the Labor Party has gone down this path.
Peter Stefanovic:
Okay just finally, are there talking points for when talking points are released?
Minister Sukkar:
No, Pete, I’m just winging-it. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to rely on that today, mate. You’ve got me on the hop. What can I say?
Peter Stefanovic:
Yep. Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar, appreciate your time as always. We’ll talk to you soon.
Minister Sukkar:
Thanks Pete.