Voters mark down Anthony Albanese’s housing plan, as Labor targets foreign tradies

One in three Australians are going without essentials to pay for housing and 70 per cent have marked down Labor’s Homes for Australia plan, as the government scrambles to bring foreign tradies into the country.

Anthony Albanese during a tour of a new Prahran public housing site in Victoria. Picture: David Crosling/NewsWire

One in three Australians are going without essentials to pay for housing and 70 per cent have marked down Anthony Albanese’s $32bn Homes for Australia plan, as the government scrambles to bring foreign tradies into the country.

New polling of 1600 voters commissioned by Master Builders Australia reveals that despite states and territories overseeing planning and tax regimes, 65 per cent of voters believe the Albanese government is on the hook to fix the housing crisis.

The poll, conducted by Insightfully between November 11 and 18, delivers a damning report card for Labor’s Homes for Australia plan ahead of next year’s federal election and looming housing showdown between the Prime Minister and Peter Dutton.

The nationwide survey shows one in three Australians have gone without essentials including food, medicine and education to pay for their rent or mortgage over the past 12 months, 90 per cent have found it difficult to afford to buy or rent a property and 85 per cent agree there are not enough homes.

With construction costs increasing by 40 per cent and new home completions blowing out by 44 per cent since 2019, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Tuesday reversed earlier drafts that did not guarantee trades in the Core Skills Occupation List.

Amid crippling labour shortages across the construction industry and following a backlash from building and business groups, the final list of 456 professions now ­includes trades including bricklayers, stonemasons, tilers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians.

Mr Burke said the list, which features yoga instructors, Wushu martial arts coaches, massage therapists, hairdressers and flower growers, is designed to attract skilled migrants where “no Australian workers are available”. In a concession to unions, builders earning more than $135,000 remain excluded from accessing higher-tier, fast-tracked visas.

While welcoming the addition of some trades, MBA chief executive Denita Wawn said the construction industry remained “dismayed that in the middle of a housing crisis and chronic labour shortages, key roles … have been left off the list”.

“You can’t build a house, schools, hospitals or roads without crane, bulldozer and excavator operators, who have not made the cut. The evidence speaks for itself – all building and construction industry occupation groups remain in shortage and should be on the list,” Ms Wawn said.

“The federal government has missed an opportunity to signal to the industry and the community that they are really committed to fixing the housing crisis. Labour shortages have been one of the biggest drivers of cost increases and time delays.”

With the Coalition preparing to unveil additional housing policies in coming weeks and the Prime Minister finalising new cost-of-living relief ahead of Jim Chalmers’ mid-year budget update, the MBA polling shows a surge in voter concern about cost-of-living and housing pressures.

In a worrying trend for the ­Albanese government, seven in 10 voters said the housing crisis was damaging their quality of life and that the situation had worsened over the past year.

Ms Wawn said there was majority community support for “getting more skilled tradies both domestically and from overseas, speeding up planning approvals, simplifying workplace laws, bringing in an industry watchdog to hold unlawful unions to account, and building more critical infrastructure”.

With the Albanese government on track to fall short of its pledge to build 1.2 million new, well-located homes by mid-2029, Ms Wawn said builders “can’t deliver unless governments do their bit to ease cost pressures and reverse declining productivity”.

“It’s clear at this upcoming federal election voters will be looking at all parties for real and tangible solutions to the housing crisis and we urge them to work with industry to make this happen,” she said.

“This Christmas, while many will be decorating their homes, a large share will be trying to keep their home. The majority of Australians think the federal government has more to do to solve the housing crisis.”

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the government had “failed to build the homes Australians need and failed to manage an immigration system that provides the right workers to help supplement demand”.

“In this financial year commencing on 1 July there have only been nine temporary skilled visa grants to bricklayers. Australians are experiencing a housing crisis coupled with a shortage of skilled workers, meanwhile Labor is inviting more non-critical workers – including yoga teachers – to apply for skills visas,” the opposition skills spokeswoman said.

“According to Jobs and Skills Australia, skills shortages have worsened since the Albanese government took office and remain higher today than under the Coalition. The updated Occupation Shortage List has confirmed Australia’s construction sector is facing national skills shortages of tradies across the board, with shortages in almost all trades.”