Press conference with Coalition Members of Parliament and industry group representatives

Event: Press conference with Coalition Members of Parliament and industry group representatives
Date: 19 October 2024
Speakers: Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia, Senator Michaelia Cash, Peter Dutton MP, Michael Sukkar MP, Senator Bridget McKenzie, Mike Zorbas, Jocelyn Martin, Col Dutton.
Topics: Coalition housing policy announcement

E&OE 

Michaelia Cash, Senator for Western Australia: Well, it’s fantastic to be here in Sinagra in Western Australia at this new housing development. I’m also delighted to be joined yet again today by the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, by Senator Bridget McKenzie, our Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and by my very good friend and the Shadow Minister for Housing in Michael Sukkar. We’re also joined by friends from the Housing Institute of Australia, Master Builders – people who want to ensure Australians are able to realise that dream of home ownership. 

We know that under the Albanese Government owning a home has never been harder. Here in Western Australia, every day I talk to people, and they say to me, ‘Michaelia, I just want to be able to own my own home’ – and that is why we are here today. 

We want to get Australia back on track. We want to ensure that all Australians, but in particular for me as a Senator for Western Australia, that Western Australians are able to have within their grasp that great Australian dream of home ownership. That is why today, here in Perth, Western Australia, in our fantastic northern suburbs at this new housing development, Peter Dutton, Michael Sukkar and Bridget McKenzie, we will announce our suite of policies that will ensure that that great dream of home ownership in Australia is yet again within reach of all Australians, and as I said, for me in particular, for Western Australians. 

Peter? 

Peter Dutton, Member for Dickson, Leader of the Opposition: Michaelia, fantastic. Thank you very much everyone for being here today. 

Firstly, thank you to Stockland for hosting us. Col, to you and your team, it’s an amazing development site here and obviously we’ve got brickies and carpenters and others working on some of the builds at the moment, but we want so much more building to take place in WA and right across the country. 

Thank you very much to my colleagues who are here today, to Bridget and to Michael, who have done a mighty body of work. We’ve got housing industry representatives here from the Property Council, from the HIA and Master Builders. We’ve been working very closely with them and with other stakeholders to get a real practical understanding of how we can help Australians achieve the great Australian dream of home ownership again. That’s what this policy is really about. 

Today I announce that a Coalition Government will invest $5 billion into creating at least 500,000 new homes for people here in Perth, people in New South Wales and Victoria, in Tasmania, right across the country. This is a game changer for young Australians who can’t see the opportunity yet to own a home. I believe very strongly that one of the huge and most significant parts of our culture is the dream of home ownership, and that has been exhausted for many Australians under two years of Labor. 

It’s happened very quickly, not just have we had 12 interest rate rises, but the cost of building has gone through the roof. The Government hasn’t planned for the workforce, and we’ve seen cost escalation locking many people out of the market. Whilst the Prime Minister’s got one eye on retirement, I’m firmly focussed on making sure that we can build new homes for Australian families. I want to make sure that we can build these homes and backyards and make sure that young Australians have hope again. 

So to young Australians, to their parents and grandparents who are really concerned about helping their kids or making sure that they can provide a bit of support where they can to help their kids get into home ownership, our policy now will free up more land. It will encourage investment and it will get that product delivered to market more quickly. 

Michael’s going to have more to say about some of that, as Bridget will on the infrastructure side, and then we’re happy to take questions. 

Michael Sukkar, Member for Deakin: Well, thank you Michaelia and Peter and Bridget and all the representatives here today. 

This is a huge announcement – 500,000 homes. It’s very rare that a government of any description can stand up in front of the Australian people and make a commitment of 500,000 homes through the housing infrastructure programme, which we are announcing today. 

This will be a programme that funds the most critical infrastructure that, at the moment, there is so little funding for, and which is holding up projects. The 500,000 homes that will be delivered under this programme will be a combination of projects that might sit on the shelf for ten years and, and be quite significantly delayed or projects that may never actually go ahead because they just don’t stack up. So the $5 billion of funding committed under the housing infrastructure programme will deliver those 500,000 homes.  

It’s one of the reasons why we have and are very pleased to receive the blessing and endorsement from every major stakeholder in the housing industry in this country. I’m very pleased that we’ve got Denita Wawn from the Master Builders Association who are backing this in, Mike Zorbas from the Property Council who are backing us in, Jocelyn Martin from the Housing Industry Association, and of course, Col Dutton from the UDIA, who represent literally thousands of builders, the people who build these homes, the organisations that put in the infrastructure that is needed. It’s water in, sewerage out, its power in, its roads to get people in and out of sites. These are the things that are holding up the projects at the moment. This is what this fund will deliver on. 

We have spent two years speaking with hundreds of councils and other builders and organisations around Australia. It’s very clear there are few things that everyone agrees on but one of the things they agree on is that the enabling infrastructure is holding up so many of these developments. That’s what has led to Bridget and I developing this policy, a policy that the Government in their inaction has not been able to see. That’s why we have a situation now where first home buyers are down, housing approvals are down, housing starts are down, rents are up, and of course, migration is up on every single metric. Housing in this country is getting worse. 

There will be a Peter Dutton Government that ultimately delivers for the Australian people that dream, that great Australian dream of owning a home. Unlike Labor, we are not waving the white flag on home ownership. You don’t hear anything from the Government on home ownership. We are singularly focussed on ensuring the next generation of Australians can do that and this is a really practical way of directly spending money to get outcomes, to get homes just like the one behind me built. 

Because, in handing over to Bridget, I can say we believe that the huge infrastructure spend of Commonwealth governments are being directed partly to the most important social infrastructure there is, and that’s a roof over your head is one of the greatest investments that can be made, and that’s why we’re so proud with today’s announcement. 

I’ll now pass over to Bridget to say a few words. 

Bridget McKenzie, Senator for Victoria: Well, it’s fantastic to stand here on a housing development, to actually be making the commitment to the Australian people that a future Liberal National Government will set up a $5 billion infrastructure enabling fund to actually unlock the great potential of these developments. We know that the Liberal and the National Parties, if elected, will be giving Australians the keys to unlock their front door of an affordable home. That means addressing the bottlenecks such as getting the enabling infrastructure, the water, the sewerage, the power, the telecommunications on site here, making blocks like this affordable, and other measures to make sure that the construction of homes are also affordable for everyday Australians. 

We know that getting housing developments open like this one sees the costs for enabling infrastructure – for that water, that sewerage, the telecommunications being passed through to young families and low-income earners who can least afford it. We know the Housing Affordability Index is the lowest it’s been since records began. This is a housing crisis. We need practical, tangible measures that are going to get Australians into affordable homes that they can own and raise a family in sooner. That’s why we are looking forward, if elected, to actually delivering over half a million new homes for purchase. 

This is a time limited offering to ensure that this backlog created by the Labor Party pouring a million additional people in here, while we’ve only seen 350,000 housing starts over that period. That backlog created by Labor is actually addressed and it means putting real money on the table so local councils, property developers and others can actually unlock the potential of these sites and get people into their homes sooner. 

We’ve all heard the stories of delays, not just the price of getting these essential services on site, but we’ve heard of state-owned power companies, for instance, delaying actually getting the kit on site for two years. Now that just drives up the cost again to the purchaser at the end of the line. We are absolutely interested in seeing Australians get into their own home, owning it and it’s been really concerning I think in recent weeks to say that Australians are putting off having a family, putting off doing a whole lot of things because they can’t afford a house. 

We’re interested in actually making that dream a reality by doing the not sexy stuff – that’s the sewerage, that’s the water, that’s the power and the comms but that is actually the practical measures that will make a difference for Australians. We’re going to put Australians at the front of the queue when it comes to owning their own home. It’s only a Liberal and a National Government that will do that. 

Michael: Well done, Bridg. Thanks for that. Call on Denita. 

Denita Wawn, CEO Master Builders Australia: Good morning. Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia. 

We have a housing supply crisis in this country and one of the key barriers for us to be able to build many homes for Australians across the country is missing piece of enabling infrastructure. We cannot build until infrastructure is in place and that is why we’re very supportive of the announcement today for $5 billion. That will make a significant difference to Australians across the country. 

The quickest and most efficient way for us to build homes for Australians, particularly first homeowners wanting to buy their new home, is in detached housing. It enables us to build within 12 months, but the land needs to be ready, and this enables us to get on with that job of building all of those homes for Australians. 

Michael: Thanks. Thanks for that Denita. Mike next? 

Mike Zorbas, CEO Property Council of Australia: Mike Zorbas, I’m the CEO of the Property Council of Australia. This is, without question, a very significant investment. Putting $5 billion into unlocking last mile infrastructure is a massive boost not only for the supply of housing in this country, but also for the affordability of housing in this country. And that has been something that has been biting Australians for the last decade. It’s an incredibly important moment, a real shot in the arm for the great Australian dream.  

Michael: Thank you, Mike. Jocelyn?

Jocelyn Martin, Managing Director Housing Industry Association: Jocelyn Martin, Housing Industry Association. 

We know that the majority of Australians still aspire to owning their own home and we also know that the delivery of greenfields and detached housing is some of the most efficient ways that we can do that. We hear from our members that one of the major limitations to delivering those homes is the access to infrastructure – the services such as power, water and electricity to our greenfield sites. 

We’re also falling incredibly short of our housing targets. So, investment, like the Coalition have announced today – $5 billion into infrastructure and services is certainly going to be welcomed by the industry. Our builders are crippled by the amount of red tape that impacts our industry and adds cost to new homes. So, we also welcome the announcement today that reduces future changes to the National Construction Code. 

Michael: Thanks Jocelyn, excellent. 

Col Dutton, President Urban Development Institute of Australia: Col Dutton, President of the Urban Development Institute of Australia.  

Any investment in upfront infrastructure to allow housing supply to happen is great investment. It’s really important. Our members around Australia believe it’s really important to ensure that logical, legible roll out of housing is known by all and the investment in the right places will make a real difference. The $5 billion investment announced and the 500,000 homes that go with it is a huge step and a great investment. 

Media contact:
Dee Zegarac
National Director, Media & Public Affairs
0400 493 071
dee.zegarac@masterbuilders.com.au