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{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationHIA urges Treasurer to make housing the centrepiece of economic reform
HIA urges Treasurer to make housing the centrepiece of economic reform
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“Without urgent action to lift home building activity, productivity and investment, Australia’s housing crisis will only deepen,” HIA Managing Director, Jocelyn Martin said today.
“The Treasurer’s Roundtable presents a critical opportunity to address the barriers that are holding back new housing supply. You cannot talk about productivity, economic growth or improving living standards without discussing housing.
“Red tape, regulation and delay are adding enormous costs to the delivery of new homes. If we want to see real reform, we need to boost productivity in our industry, cut the burden of unnecessary building and planning rules, and start making it easier to build the homes.
“HIA made a submission to Treasury, that highlights the taxes and charges on a typical house and land package in Sydney can now exceed $500,000, costs that are ultimately paid by new home buyers and locked into mortgages for decades.
“We’re calling on all level of governments to stop taxing new homes like they’re a luxury item. Apart from alcohol and cigarettes, there’s no other sector more heavily taxed than housing,” Ms Martin said.
The HIA submission urges the Roundtable participants to drive practical reform across several areas.
“We need real support to address the skill shortages that are making it impossible to meet the 1.2 million homes target.
“We need to remove the regulatory roadblocks that are holding back innovation and prefabrication. We need to reduce the overwhelming complexity of the National Construction Code, reform planning systems, and create a more attractive environment for investment in housing, particularly in the multi-residential sector.
“Small building businesses are the backbone of this industry, they need less paperwork, not more. They need clear rules, investment certainty and room to innovate and grow.
“With housing approvals lagging and construction starts falling well below what is needed to meet demand, the case for urgent reform has never been stronger.
“Both sides of parliament have acknowledged how hard it has become to build a house in this country. The Treasurer now can turn that message into action,” concluded Ms Martin.
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