House of Assembly Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2) 52 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Ministerial Statement Ministerial Statement Construction Industry CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly Cheltenham Premier Minister for State Development Minister for the Public Sector Minister for the Arts The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:04): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement. Leave granted. The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL House of Assembly The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We have a diverse economy in South Australia, and while some sectors are growing strongly others are not. In particular, our housing construction industry has been experiencing difficulty for some time. Since May 2010, housing approvals have declined by 39 per cent. While the latest few months of data suggest that the decline has been arrested, we are still seeing quite low rates of housing construction. Yesterday we saw only a 0.3 per cent increase in building approvals in trend terms. As members will be aware, we acknowledged this problem last year and we acted, in particular, to boost demand. We provided a full stamp duty concession of up to $21,330 on eligible apartments bought off the plan in the Adelaide City Council area, Bowden Village and the 45 Park developments. This remains in place until June 2014, with a partial stamp duty concession to apply in June 2016. In October last year, we introduced the Housing Construction Grant, up to $8,500 for any person building a new home. Designed to provide a quick stimulus to demand in the housing sector, this remains in place only until June this year. Early signs are encouraging. I am advised that our support has led to a substantial increase in inquiries to builders and developers. We want to continue this early momentum in the return of the housing sector, so I have asked Treasury to provide details of the forward construction program for government and directed agencies with construction programs to identify those projects which could be profitably advanced to give a quick boost to supply. Yesterday in cabinet we had reports from Treasury and agency chief executives to examine which projects could be brought forward. As a result, I can announce to the house that projects worth more than $70 million will now be brought forward from future years to commence as soon as possible. These include 18 Better Neighbourhoods projects for the construction of 170 houses at a cost of $23.6 million under the auspices of Renewal SA, which can commence from the middle of the year, and $27 million to construct 90 specialised disability supported accommodation dwellings, along with $8 million for social and disability housing. Both projects will be delivered through Housing SA and commence from the middle of this year. We will also accelerate the $16 million second tranche of the broader $32 million small maintenance grants program to schools launched last year, a program which is allowing our local schools to use local tradespeople to undertake needed maintenance work with a minimum of red tape. Accelerating these projects will support jobs for South Australians and support business for local builders and tradespeople. They are further support for our housing sector because we know a resurgent housing sector is good for our economy. We recognise that some sectors of the economy need assistance, so this government is willing to provide support for jobs, support for business, and support for the economy.