HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Member Index
Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-01 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Construction Industry Employment

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:01): My question is to the Treasurer. Does the Treasurer have any recent information on employment in the construction industry in South Australia?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:01): The construction industry has certainly loudly and publicly in recent weeks and months advocated for important initiatives to be taken in the construction industry because of the concerns they had about massive impacts on employment within their industry sector.

Bearing in mind that unlike a number of other sectors such as tourism and hospitality, there was no government edict to close down the construction industry, clearly there were significant impacts on housing construction indirectly through a range of other decisions governments took, particularly those that impacted the level of unemployment in the state and in the nation. These would clearly have impacts on certainly the residential housing market as well.

I am pleased to be able to report on recent ABS figures, which the Master Builders Association—fearless advocates on behalf of their industry as they are—have circulated to anyone who is interested. These indicate, from their viewpoint, certainly some significantly improving figures in terms of the construction industry in South Australia coming out of the trough of COVID-19. These construction employment estimates by state and territory are the estimates for up and to 13 June 2020, so they certainly—

The PRESIDENT: Treasurer, can you just hang on for a second. Order! The Hon. Ms Franks, the Hon. Mr Parnell and the Hon. Ms Pnevmatikos, I am struggling to hear the Treasurer, so if you are going to have a conversation can you just keep it down. Treasurer.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: These figures are as recent as 13 June of this year, and what they indicate is there has been a turnaround in recent weeks in terms of construction industry employment. For example, the change since the post-COVID trough—that is, the lowest level of construction industry employment in South Australia—has been an increase of 677 employees within the construction industry in South Australia, or an increase of 1.0 per cent. The national figure is 0.3 per cent, so the growth in construction industry employment from the post-COVID trough is three times stronger in South Australia than the national figure.

These figures also demonstrate the extent of the decline in construction industry employment from pre-COVID to the worst figures during the COVID pandemic. What they show is a loss of 2,849 jobs in the construction industry in South Australia or a decline of 4.0 per cent. Again, as depressing and distressing as that decline is, the national decline was much stronger at 5.3 per cent in Australia.

I think what the figures are demonstrating is that South Australia's construction industry has performed more strongly relative to national figures, whilst enduring the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic and, as we are hopefully emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, our construction industry is growing more strongly. The MBA do put down a significant factor in that being in their words, 'The HomeBuilder has ignited the residential sector with a massive spike in sales,' and they refer to I think a story which might have been in The Advertiser yesterday headlined 'Land sales skyrocket in Mount Barker as buyers pounce on HomeBuilders grant', and the first part of that indicates:

Low interest rates and first home buyer incentives are driving a turnaround in land sales across Mount Barker…Lot sales have jumped by 400 per cent at Newenham Estate, while Glenlea has struck a new chord with first home buyers.

Subdivisions are also on the rise in Mount Barker, with 25 new parcels created through May—the highest figure recorded in SA.

There are other similar figures. I won't take up the time of the council in going through all of the figures but I think they are at the very least encouraging signs for the construction industry, that important industry sector in South Australia, with the easing of restrictions much more quickly than we would have ever envisaged in March and in April this year.

Hopefully, the combination of the HomeBuilder grant, with the incentives and stimulus that the state government has provided generally to the industry sector, and also with the continuing low interest rate environment, which the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Mr Philip Lowe, is publicly and privately saying he believes will continue for a significant period of time and will be conducive to further growth of employment in the construction industry sector in South Australia.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT