Tasmanian builders bid for $40k first home grant

Master Builders Tasmania have a solution to fast track the State’s recovery. They say the building sector is the key as they outline the benefits of doubling the First Home Owner Grant.

BUILDERS have called for a temporary doubling of Tasmania’s First Home Owner Grant, saying such a measure would save jobs and bring “fairness” to the state’s housing market.

Master Builders Tasmania wants to see the grant for first home buyers who either build their own home or buy off a plan, increased from $20,000 to $40,000.

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“Building a fairer housing sector and supporting more people and families to own their own home is a sure-fire way to fast track our recovery,” Master Builders executive director Matthew Pollock said.

Matthew Pollock, executive director of the Master Builders, Tasmania. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

“It brings long-term social benefits that come with home ownership and is a fair and productive way to peg back some of the wealth that households have lost during this crisis.”

Mr Pollock said Tasmania’s First Home Owner Grant scheme was one of the most generous and successful in the country.

He suggested not only doubling it, but also making it available to anyone wanting to buy a new home.

“This will put more people in their own home, build wealth for the long term, and support jobs and the economic recovery in the short term,” Mr Pollock said.

The State Government on Friday announced a mammoth public construction program, including social and affordable housing.

That was strongly welcomed by all sectors of the construction industry, from builders to suppliers, but many in the industry have said public projects cannot make up for the coronavirus-led downturn in private construction.

Paul Burnell managing director Ronald Young and Co Builders at a site in Clarendon Vale that will be affordable housing. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Paul Burnell, managing director of Ronald Young & Co Builders, said a doubling of the First Home Owner Grant would be like “flicking on a switch”.

“The Government’s announcement is welcome and will create jobs, but private investment is where most of the work in our industry comes from,” Mr Burnell said.

He said sales of plan homes had dropped by 30 to 50 per cent, which meant building activity would dry up for his firm in a few months.

“At the moment people are too nervous to commit to such a big project [as a new home]. Doubling the home builder’s grant would give young couples the confidence to move ahead,” Mr Burnell said.

Managing director Ronald Young and Co Builders Paul Burnell at a site in Clarendon Vale that will be affordable housing. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Timberlink, which owns Tasmania’s biggest timber mill, also joined the call for more housing stimulus, saying regional communities were at stake.

“We are a key part of the Tasmanian economy, employing over 200 Tasmanians directly and around 650 people indirectly,” company chief Ian Tyson said.

“Timberlink’s Bell Bay mill produces plantation pine timber that is sold locally and all over Australia that is used in building homes for Australians.”

A recent Housing Industry Association report showed new home sales nationally had fallen by 22.8 per cent since the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions.