Talking Point: HomeBuilder grants must be extended

Anyone who has built a home knows 90 days is not enough time to get a project off the drawing board, says Matthew Pollock

Accelerate our recovery: Matthew Pollock, Master Builders Tasmania. Picture: Zak Simmonds

THIS week’s state budget will set the trajectory for our economic recovery.

Premier Peter Gutwein has said we will build our way out of this crisis. Tasmanians and the construction industry have marshalled behind him.

Tasmanians have never have been more enthusiastic to build their new home. Spurred on by the HomeBuilder stimulus, which offers new homeowners $45,000 towards their deposit, the housing boom is slated to inject hundreds of millions into the economy over the next couple of years.

The government must also be commended for bringing forward public projects which has helped fill the gap left by the exodus of private investment due to COVID.

Since the Premier announced his COVID recovery strategy to Rebuild Tasmania the value of project approvals on government funded jobs has jumped by 80 per cent.

Swift action has saved jobs and kept our economy going.

Construction is our economic accelerator and jobs generator, providing Tasmanians with opportunities to build careers while building the homes and infrastructure which will make our state a more productive and better place to live.

But we need to get the speed right. Unreasonable eligibility timeframes under HomeBuilder, requiring approvals, permits and substantial commencement of building work within 90 days of the building contract being signed, are pushing contractors to the brink.

Anyone who has designed and built a home would know that 90 days is not enough time to get a project off the drawing board. On a good year, it takes an average of 77 days between a building approval being granted and building work commencing. This year is not a good year.

Extending the timeframe to commence construction has been done in other states.

We need to do the same to ensure people do not miss out on the opportunity to build their dream home.

When Master Builders first put forward HomeBuilder, nobody expected we would still be grappling with border closures in November.

We know from experience that private investment is one of the last parts of the economy to recovery from a recession. We need a plan to fill this gap over the medium to long term and to give the private sector the confidence to bring projects back into the pipeline.

If we must, we should borrow to build.

The productivity dividends from infrastructure will far outweigh the very low interest payable.

Unlocking private investment through well targeted public stimulus is our best shot at firing up the economy and saving jobs.

The recovery is going to be longer. The construction industry can accelerate our recovery if the government is prepared to put the right policy and stimulus settings in place.

We can build our way out of this crisis and build a fairer and more prosperous community while we are at it.

Extending HomeBuilder and encouraging private investment to put cranes back in the sky is the foundation we need to rebuild our economy.

Matthew Pollock is executive director of Master Builders Tasmania.