Economic woes are still at ‘the quarter time siren’
The latest economic update from the government shows that far more construction support will be needed to underpin Australia’s economic recovery, according to an industry group.
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said that while efforts so far to handle the health and economic crisis have saved lives, businesses and jobs, the Treasurer’s statement “is effectively only the quarter time siren and they will need to stay focused on ‘best on ground’ performances to underpin economic recovery”.
She highlighted that while measures including JobKeeper, HomeBuilder and JobTrainer are proving to be effective, “there is no doubt that more is going to be needed before we emerge from the economic wreckage of the pandemic”.
Ms Wawn said, “The 6 per cent fall in investment in 2019-20 and 12.5 per cent in 2020-21 will be particularly painful for the building and construction industry, which is crucial to a strong economy.”
“As the industry that provides the most full-time jobs in the economy, we are deeply worried about the impact of the forecast fall in demand on the industry, the viability of around 380,000 of small builder and tradie businesses and opportunities for future careers for young people,” the CEO considered.
She’s calling for a new phase of support, where government stimulus and subsidies remain and expand while fundamental policy to maximise private investment in facets of the economy gain pace, which includes a pursuit of industrial relations reform.
“The HomeBuilder grants scheme is proving to be one of the most effective government stimulus packages in decades and more highly effective measures to stimulate demand for building activity are necessary,” she said.
The CEO commented that giving extra support to the building and construction industry is a “no-brainer”.
“Master Builders also wants to see more policy reform, subsidies and stimulus to reskill and upskill people whose employment has been lost due to the pandemic for opportunities in industries like ours, which has a strong track record of providing jobs on completion of skills training,” she said.
“We know that a strong building and construction industry means a strong economy.”
The most recent update “just reinforces Master Builders’ call for policies to ensure that private investment is maximised and supplemented by the government in form of stimulus and subsidies in the October budget”, she concluded.
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