❓ Mr. Michael asks about the impact of the social housing recovery package on jobs and businesses in WA's construction industry. The Treasurer outlines the package's components, including refurbishment, new builds, and regional maintenance, estimating it will create 1,700 jobs.
AnsweredQoN 411Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
SOCIAL HOUSING RECOVERY PACKAGE
411. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Treasurer:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's social housing recovery package
that will support the Western Australian economy as it recovers from the
devastating impacts of COVID-19. Can the Treasurer advise the house what this
massive investment will mean for jobs and businesses in WA's
construction industry?
SOCIAL HOUSING RECOVERY PACKAGE
411. Mr D.R. MICHAEL to the Treasurer:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's social housing recovery package
that will support the Western Australian economy as it recovers from the
devastating impacts of COVID-19. Can the Treasurer advise the house what this
massive investment will mean for jobs and businesses in WA's
construction industry?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Balcatta for
that very good question. The Premier has already outlined the first component
of our package to support the construction sector—the building bonus
package. It is always worth noting that 66 000 Western Australians are directly
employed in the residential construction sector. In light of the pipeline of
work having been dramatically impacted by COVID-19 and, of course, Western Australia's
population growth, we are keen to keep that work going over the next couple of
years, when, hopefully, we will return to greater levels of economic activity and population growth. We are
working with the commonwealth on the building bonus package outlined by
the Premier.
We have also invested very heavily—in
fact, it is the largest investment—in our social housing economic recovery
package, with some $319 million. There are three components to this recovery
package. There is a refurbishment package for 1 500 public homes. Ordinarily,
in the course of things, those properties would likely be sold and developed, but 1 500 of those will be refurbished.
That is more than maintenance, Mr Speaker; we will see significant refurbishments. The vast majority of the
investment—$141 million—will go into effectively rebuilding
those homes internally. The second
component is around 250 brand-new dwellings for government. I will make some
comments on that in a minute. The third component, which really
highlights the government's focus on bringing forward activity quickly
to complement our refurbishments, is a regional maintenance package of some $80
million. That will fast-track a regional maintenance program for over 4 000 dwellings
from one end of the state to the other, including
remote Aboriginal communities' stock and subsidised housing for
regional government workers. This will start immediately and create some
430 jobs in regional Western Australia.
I
made a point about our new builds. There is $97 million to build or to buy
about 250 new dwellings, comprising not only new social housing builds, but
also the capacity for some off-the-plan purchases for dwellings ready for
immediate construction—the
point being that the state government can use its balance sheet to buy off the
plan to get construction happening immediately. That is the focus of that
component of the package. The time-limited call for submissions process
by the Department of Communities will open around mid-June—around now—to
acquire off-the-plan presale opportunities.
The focus is twofold. Obviously, it is supporting the 66 000 Western Australians
who work in this area. That was about $5.2 billion of gross state product in
2018–19. It is an important component of our economy and will generate
about 1 700 new jobs over the next two years, 430 of which will be in regional Western
Australia. This is a very large investment in our social housing stock, in the
construction sector and, importantly, in the economic recovery we are clearly
seeing in Western Australia.
that very good question. The Premier has already outlined the first component
of our package to support the construction sector—the building bonus
package. It is always worth noting that 66 000 Western Australians are directly
employed in the residential construction sector. In light of the pipeline of
work having been dramatically impacted by COVID-19 and, of course, Western Australia's
population growth, we are keen to keep that work going over the next couple of
years, when, hopefully, we will return to greater levels of economic activity and population growth. We are
working with the commonwealth on the building bonus package outlined by
the Premier.
We have also invested very heavily—in
fact, it is the largest investment—in our social housing economic recovery
package, with some $319 million. There are three components to this recovery
package. There is a refurbishment package for 1 500 public homes. Ordinarily,
in the course of things, those properties would likely be sold and developed, but 1 500 of those will be refurbished.
That is more than maintenance, Mr Speaker; we will see significant refurbishments. The vast majority of the
investment—$141 million—will go into effectively rebuilding
those homes internally. The second
component is around 250 brand-new dwellings for government. I will make some
comments on that in a minute. The third component, which really
highlights the government's focus on bringing forward activity quickly
to complement our refurbishments, is a regional maintenance package of some $80
million. That will fast-track a regional maintenance program for over 4 000 dwellings
from one end of the state to the other, including
remote Aboriginal communities' stock and subsidised housing for
regional government workers. This will start immediately and create some
430 jobs in regional Western Australia.
I
made a point about our new builds. There is $97 million to build or to buy
about 250 new dwellings, comprising not only new social housing builds, but
also the capacity for some off-the-plan purchases for dwellings ready for
immediate construction—the
point being that the state government can use its balance sheet to buy off the
plan to get construction happening immediately. That is the focus of that
component of the package. The time-limited call for submissions process
by the Department of Communities will open around mid-June—around now—to
acquire off-the-plan presale opportunities.
The focus is twofold. Obviously, it is supporting the 66 000 Western Australians
who work in this area. That was about $5.2 billion of gross state product in
2018–19. It is an important component of our economy and will generate
about 1 700 new jobs over the next two years, 430 of which will be in regional Western
Australia. This is a very large investment in our social housing stock, in the
construction sector and, importantly, in the economic recovery we are clearly
seeing in Western Australia.
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