Housing Construction Approvals

Ms COOK (Fisher) (14:47): My question is for the Minister for Housing and Urban Development. Can the minister update the house on housing construction approvals in South Australia?

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Minister for Housing and Urban Development) (14:47): I thank the member for Fisher for this important question. We are seeing some very, very strong results for building approvals here in South Australia. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics' statistics show that, in terms of the number of dwelling approvals, they rose by 1.5 per cent in September and they were 19 per cent higher than a year earlier. It is a very strong result, particularly in the context of the national result, where there was a fall of 0.4 per cent in the year to September 2017.

The latest ABS statistics also show the number of private sector house approvals rose by 1.2 per cent in South Australia in September of this year and were 11 per cent higher than a year earlier. Compared to the national figures, that only rose by 0.7 per cent in September and was just 4.4 per cent higher than a year earlier. So, certainly in the context of those figures, they are outperforming the national averages.

I am also advised that there have now been 10 months of consecutive growth in dwelling approvals here in South Australia, while the number of private sector housing approvals has risen now for nine consecutive months. By these measures, there is very strong and growing evidence of an underlying trend towards a welcomed recovery in the local housing sector. This recovery has been supported and helped by this government's decision to provide significant assistance to homebuyers, particularly people wanting to build a new home or buy an off-the-plan apartment. Of course, there is more to do, and that's why the government has recently announced a further investment of approximately $10 million to stimulate jobs and activity in the building industry.

Under these initiatives, first-home buyers who purchase an off-the-plan apartment could be entitled to more than $40,000 in assistance. This comprises a $10,000 preconstruction grant for off-the-plan apartments, stamp duty concessions of up to $15,500 for purchases of off-the-plan apartments and a five-year land tax exemption for investors purchasing off-the-plan apartments. Combined with eligible applicants' access to the First Home Owner Grant, eligible buyers could receive $40,500 towards their off-the-plan apartment.

Of course, members would recall that we are also investing nearly $300 million in a major public housing renewal, a new-build program known as Renewing Our Streets and Suburbs. This program includes the renewal of 4,500 Housing Trust properties within 10 kilometres of the Adelaide CBD and the construction of 1000 Homes in 1000 Days across South Australia, which is supporting hundreds of South Australian jobs in the years that the program is operating. I am advised that nearly 60 different builders are involved in these programs, and many of these builders have not previously done work in public housing, so we are reaching out to a larger proportion of the building industry and keeping them busy during these times.

South Australia's building and construction industry is growing and strengthening. It is continuing to create jobs and help drive our state's economy. We are proud of our achievements to provide affordable homes for South Australians while supporting the housing and construction industry.