The Hon Peter Dutton MP
Leader of the Opposition
Federal Member for Dickson
The Hon Michael Sukkar MP
Shadow Minister for Housing
Federal Member for Deakin
Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Shadow Attorney-General
Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
Senator for Western Australia
Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development
Leader of the Nationals in the Senate
Senator for Victoria
SINAGRA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
19 October 2024
Subjects: home ownership dream; Labor’s cost of living crisis; Labor’s housing policy shambles and Big Australia migration policy; nuclear energy.
E&OE
MICHAELIA CASH:
Well, it’s fantastic to be here in Sinagra in Western Australia at this new housing development. I’m also delighted to be joined yet again today by the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton, by Senator Bridget McKenzie, our Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and by my very good friend and the Shadow Minister for Housing in Michael Sukkar. We’re also joined by friends from the Housing Institute of Australia, Master Builders – people who want to ensure Australians are able to realise that dream of home ownership.
We know that under the Albanese Government owning a home has never been harder. Here in Western Australia, every day I talk to people and they say to me, ‘Michaelia, I just want to be able to own my own home’ – and that is why we are here today.
We want to get Australia back on track. We want to ensure that all Australians, but in particular for me as a Senator for Western Australia, that Western Australians are able to have within their grasp that great Australian dream of home ownership. That is why today, here in Perth, Western Australia, in our fantastic northern suburbs at this new housing development, Peter Dutton, Michael Sukkar and Bridget McKenzie, we will announce our suite of policies that will ensure that that great dream of home ownership in Australia is yet again within reach of all Australians, and as I said, for me in particular, for Western Australians.
Peter?
PETER DUTTON:
Michaelia, fantastic. Thank you very much everyone for being here today.
Firstly, thank you to Stockland for hosting us. Col, to you and your team, it’s an amazing development site here and obviously we’ve got brickies and carpenters and others working on some of the builds at the moment, but we want so much more building to take place in WA and right across the country.
Thank you very much to my colleagues who are here today, to Bridget and to Michael, who have done a mighty body of work. We’ve got housing industry representatives here from the Property Council, from the HIA and Master Builders. We’ve been working very closely with them and with other stakeholders to get a real practical understanding of how we can help Australians achieve the great Australian dream of home ownership again. That’s what this policy is really about.
Today I announce that a Coalition Government will invest $5 billion into creating at least 500,000 new homes for people here in Perth, people in New South Wales and Victoria, in Tasmania, right across the country. This is a game changer for young Australians who can’t see the opportunity yet to own a home. I believe very strongly that one of the huge and most significant parts of our culture is the dream of home ownership, and that has been exhausted for many Australians under two years of Labor.
It’s happened very quickly, not just have we had 12 interest rate rises, but the cost of building has gone through the roof. The Government hasn’t planned for the workforce and we’ve seen cost escalation locking many people out of the market. Whilst the Prime Minister’s got one eye on retirement, I’m firmly focussed on making sure that we can build new homes for Australian families. I want to make sure that we can build these homes and backyards and make sure that young Australians have hope again.
So to young Australians, to their parents and grandparents who are really concerned about helping their kids or making sure that they can provide a bit of support where they can to help their kids get into home ownership, our policy now will free up more land. It will encourage investment and it will get that product delivered to market more quickly.
Michael’s going to have more to say about some of that, as Bridget will on the infrastructure side, and then we’re happy to take questions.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Well, thank you Michaelia and Peter and Bridget and all the representatives here today.
This is a huge announcement – 500,000 homes. It’s very rare that a government of any description can stand up in front of the Australian people and make a commitment of 500,000 homes through the housing infrastructure programme, which we are announcing today.
This will be a programme that funds the most critical infrastructure that, at the moment, there is so little funding for and which is holding up projects. The 500,000 homes that will be delivered under this programme will be a combination of projects that might sit on the shelf for ten years and and and be quite significantly delayed or projects that may never actually go ahead because they just don’t stack up. So the $5 billion of funding committed under the housing infrastructure programme will deliver those 500,000 homes.
It’s one of the reasons why we have and are very pleased to receive the blessing and endorsement from every major stakeholder in the housing industry in this country. I’m very pleased that we’ve got Denita Wawn from the Master Builders Association who are backing this in, Mike Zorbas from the Property Council who are backing us in, Jocelyn Martin from the Housing Industry Association, and of course, Col Dutton from the UDIA, who represent literally thousands of builders, the people who build these homes, the organisations that put in the infrastructure that is needed. It’s water in, sewerage out, its power in, its roads to get people in and out of sites. These are the things that are holding up the projects at the moment. This is what this fund will deliver on.
We have spent two years speaking with hundreds of councils and other builders and organisations around Australia. It’s very clear there are few things that everyone agrees on but one of the things they agree on is that the enabling infrastructure is holding up so many of these developments. That’s what has led to Bridget and I developing this policy, a policy that the Government in their inaction has not been able to see. That’s why we have a situation now where first home buyers are down, housing approvals are down, housing starts are down, rents are up, and of course, migration is up on every single metric. Housing in this country is getting worse.
There will be a Peter Dutton Government that ultimately delivers for the Australian people that dream, that great Australian dream of owning a home. Unlike Labor, we are not waving the white flag on home ownership. You don’t hear anything from the Government on home ownership. We are singularly focussed on ensuring the next generation of Australians can do that and this is a really practical way of directly spending money to get outcomes, to get homes just like the one behind me built.
Because, in handing over to Bridget, I can say we believe that the huge infrastructure spend of Commonwealth governments are being directed partly to the most important social infrastructure there is, and that’s a roof over your head is one of the greatest investments that can be made, and that’s why we’re so proud with today’s announcement.
I’ll now pass over to Bridget to say a few words.
BRIDGET MCKENZIE:
Well, it’s fantastic to stand here on a housing development, to actually be making the commitment to the Australian people that a future Liberal National Government will set up a $5 billion infrastructure enabling fund to actually unlock the great potential of these developments. We know that the Liberal and the National Parties, if elected, will be giving Australians the keys to unlock their front door of an affordable home. That means addressing the bottlenecks such as getting the enabling infrastructure, the water, the sewerage, the power, the telecommunications on site here, making blocks like this affordable, and other measures to make sure that the construction of homes are also affordable for everyday Australians.
We know that getting housing developments open like this one sees the costs for enabling infrastructure – for that water, that sewerage, the telecommunications being passed through to young families and low income earners who can least afford it. We know the Housing Affordability Index is the lowest it’s been since records began. This is a housing crisis. We need practical, tangible measures that are going to get Australians into affordable homes that they can own and raise a family in sooner. That’s why we are looking forward, if elected, to actually delivering over half a million new homes for purchase.
This is a time limited offering to ensure that this backlog created by the Labor Party pouring a million additional people in here, while we’ve only seen 350,000 housing starts over that period. That backlog created by Labor is actually addressed and it means putting real money on the table so local councils, property developers and others can actually unlock the potential of these sites and get people into their homes sooner.
We’ve all heard the stories of delays, not just the price of getting these essential services on site, but we’ve heard of state owned power companies, for instance, delaying actually getting the kit on site for two years. Now that just drives up the cost again to the purchaser at the end of the line. We are absolutely interested in seeing Australians get into their own home, owning it and it’s been really concerning I think in recent weeks to say that Australians are putting off having a family, putting off doing a whole lot of things because they can’t afford a house.
We’re interested in actually making that dream a reality by doing the not sexy stuff – that’s the sewerage, that’s the water, that’s the power and the comms but that is actually the practical measures that will make a difference for Australians. We’re going to put Australians at the front of the queue when it comes to owning their own home. It’s only a Liberal and a National Government that will do that.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Well done, Bridg. Thanks for that. Call on Denita.
DENITA WAWN:
Good morning. Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia.
We have a housing supply crisis in this country and one of the key barriers for us to be able to build many homes for Australians across the country is missing piece of enabling infrastructure. We cannot build until infrastructure is in place and that is why we’re very supportive of the announcement today for $5 billion. That will make a significant difference to Australians across the country.
The quickest and most efficient way for us to build homes for Australians, particularly first home owners wanting to buy their new home, is in detached housing. It enables us to build within 12 months, but the land needs to be ready and this enables us to get on with that job of building all of those homes for Australians.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Thanks. Thanks for that Denita. Mike next?
MIKE ZORBAS:
Mike Zorbas, I’m the CEO of the Property Council of Australia. This is, without question, a very significant investment. Putting $5 billion into unlocking last mile infrastructure is a massive boost not only for the supply of housing in this country, but also for the affordability of housing in this country. And that has been something that has been biting Australians for the last decade. It’s an incredibly important moment, a real shot in the arm for the great Australian dream.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Thank you Mike. Jocelyn?
JOCELYN MARTIN:
Jocelyn Martin, Housing Industry Association.
We know that the majority of Australians still aspire to owning their own home and we also know that the delivery of greenfields and detached housing is some of the most efficient ways that we can do that. We hear from our members that one of the major limitations to delivering those homes is the access to infrastructure – the services such as power, water and electricity to our greenfield sites.
We’re also falling incredibly short of our housing targets. So, investment, like the Coalition have announced today – $5 billion into infrastructure and services is certainly going to be welcomed by the industry. Our builders are crippled by the amount of red tape that impacts our industry and adds cost to new homes. So we also welcome the announcement today that reduces future changes to the National Construction Code.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Thanks Jocelyn, excellent.
COL DUTTON:
Col Dutton, President of the Urban Development Institute of Australia.
Any investment in upfront infrastructure to allow housing supply to happen is great investment. It’s really important. Our members around Australia believe it’s really important to ensure that logical, legible roll out of housing is known by all and the investment in the right places will make a real difference. The $5 billion investment announced and the 500,000 homes that go with it is a huge step and a great investment.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Thanks Col.
PETER DUTTON:
Thanks mate. Thank you. Ok, happy to take any questions.
QUESTION:
The Federal Government’s housing plan is for 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade, and that’s with incentives for state governments. This is half that number of homes. Can you explain why half?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, I’ll let Michael add to it. But when you look at where the Government’s spending money at the moment, it’s not on housing. They as well say 12 million homes because they will never reach their target. They have the press conference, but they never follow through – and this is the problem for the Prime Minister. They’ve got a situation at the moment where they’re spending money on all sorts of union wishlists, but it’s not putting a roof over the heads of young Australians.
This is a practical measure. It will engage with councils and will engage with state governments and industries. It will be a competitive arrangement so that we have the most significant pressure on driving efficiency and maximum outcome in terms of the number of blocks that we can yield from this investment by the Australian taxpayer. Obviously, as we know, it has a huge multiplier into the economy because as our friends here today will tell you, there is a massive amount of tax collected by the three levels of government with every home that’s constructed, the employment that takes place, etc., etc..
So there’s a huge economic benefit, but most importantly, there’s a huge social benefit. This is about restoring the Australian dream for young Australians who have lost it under this Government. We intend to make sure that we work very closely with stakeholders to see what more that we can do. We’ll have more to say in the housing policy space between now and the election, but I’ll ask Michael to add to that.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Sure. Thanks, Peter.
Well, firstly, on Labor’s fake commitment of 1.2 million homes, they’re going to fall 400,000 homes short. That’s not my number, that’s the number of industry, including the Master Builders Association. So they’re not going to get within cooee of that so-called target or aspiration. It started off as a promise, it’s now an aspiration. But like so many other commitments this Government has made, they’ve broken it. We’ve got fewer first home buyers, we’ve got fewer homes being commenced, we’ve got fewer homes being completed and we’ve got record levels of migration.
As for our fund, our focus is going to be on how many homes it delivers – 500,000 homes. That’s what this fund will deliver. Labor talks about the amount of money they’re spending on housing. You know, after two years of this Government, not one home was delivered under a policy that they put in place – not one. Not one home after two years. So Labor’s got no credibility on their so-called promises.
We are focusing today on what we can deliver with this fund – the Housing Infrastructure Programme – 500,000 homes, and the fact that we’ve got every major association – the Master Builders Association, the HIA, UDIA, Property Council, I think gives great confidence to you and all Australians that when we say we’re going to deliver 500,000 homes, it’s achievable, it’s deliverable and it will happen.
QUESTION:
So 500,000 realistic? 1.2 million isn’t?
BRIDGET MCKENZIE:
Very happy to address that.
So, the Labor Government has shovelled $1 billion to State Governments, not one house built. We’re interested in actually getting shovels in the ground and that’s why my department will be actually overseeing this particular programme.
If councils and proponents for these projects – that have to go through a competitive process – don’t actually get the shovels in the ground, then the money disappears. They will have a 12 month window to actually get the houses built. We are sick and tired as Australians are. Australians right now are doing it tough getting into a home, doing it tough trying to find a rental they can afford. So we’re going to get tough, and if you don’t use it, you will lose it, and I’m absolutely looking forward to being the Minister that enforces that.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Sorry, can I just add, apologies, can I just add, sorry Peter. On the 1.2 million home commitment, we know that’s not a commitment that’s going to be met. The Government’s running at about 158,000 approvals when they need to be at 240,000. So they’re at least 400,000 short. The 500,000 homes that will be delivered under this programme will be additive, will be additional. The purpose of this fund is that these are above and beyond what would otherwise be built.
In the last five years of the last Coalition Government, we built nearly 1.1 million homes, under the Albanese Government it will be down to 800,000. We will deliver more homes over five years than the Labor Party could ever dream to. One of the ways we’ll do that is because 500,000 additional homes will be delivered under the Housing Infrastructure Programme, in addition to a range of other things that we’ll announce between now and the election, but Australians can be clear, we delivered many more homes the last time we were in government, we’ve seen those homes dwindle now under the Labor Party. It will be programmes like this that will mean we’ll have a lot of making up to do and a lot of catching up to do if we are to win the next election, given the neglect that this Government has rendered on housing. But this will be one key part of making sure we do deliver many more homes than Labor could ever realistically do.
QUESTION:
And the funds are directed to local councils, utility companies, developers – is it on purpose not to go to the State Government, instead to send the funds there?
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Well we, in the last two years, have consulted very widely with industry, with councils, and asked for what the bottlenecks are. Now, what we’ve seen from this Government is just shovelling money to states does not get you outcomes. Shovelling money to states has led us to the position we’re in now, where fewer homes are being built.
So this will be focussed not on who receives the money, the focus will be on what is actually delivered. Not bureaucracy, not more meetings in Canberra, not more roundtables, but actually people on the ground putting in the pipes, putting in the roads, putting in the water facilities, that’s what we have been told by industry will ultimately get projects like this going. That’s why we will have a single minded focus on delivering that, which will bring down costs and most importantly, get projects happening that, quite frankly, right now will not happen, or are many decades into the future.
QUESTION:
Mr Dutton, is this really aimed at outer suburban voters?
PETER DUTTON:
It certainly is. It’s aimed at increasing supply into the housing market and therefore that will have an effect right across the market. But is it targeted at areas like this where we can yield more blocks of land so that people can build homes? Absolutely it is.
I’ll give you the example, I was in Liverpool only a couple of weeks ago speaking to the Mayor there, they’ve got huge constraints on their sewage and water and they’ve got thousands of blocks – there’s insatiable demand here at the moment. If you listen to every credible commentator in the building space, including the experts that we’ve got here today, they all talk about increasing supply, and that’s exactly what this programme is targeted at.
The Government’s had two years to do this, and they haven’t done it, and the problem has just compounded for young Australians where they’ve lost hope under this government of home ownership. I intend to restore that hope and make sure that we help families get into homes so that they can raise kids and have a better start in life. The economic multiplier, as I say, is quite phenomenal and this will contribute to that as well.
QUESTION:
Also on housing, negative gearing has been back on the agenda. Would the Coalition look at capping the number of investments that can be negatively geared rather than phasing it out altogether?
PETER DUTTON:
No, because taking supply of rental accommodation out of the marketplace is not going to help anyone. There are many people at the moment who are renting who would love to get into a home. Well, we’re here today to say that we’re introducing 500,000 additional blocks of land into the market so that those people can move from rent to home ownership, and that will reduce some of the pressure off the rental market. If you take investors out of the market, then you will reduce the rental stock and that drives up the cost of rents.
Obviously at the moment, the Prime Minister is sort of being led by the nose by the Greens on this issue, and they’ve created all sorts of problems and distortions and they’re now talking about taxes, as we see in Victoria, where taxes on homes don’t result in improvement in the housing market, it just makes it harder and tighter – prices go up, rents go up and Labor always tax and spend. Unfortunately they’ve made a very difficult situation much worse through their migration policy and their failings in public policy and the housing space over the last two years.
QUESTION:
Can I just ask, how do you know that this will speed up development? Have you got any modelling and is there any sort of time frame?
PETER DUTTON:
Well again, great credit to Michael for the work that he’s done in engagement with those councils, and Bridget obviously has had many, many discussions around what are the bottlenecks. When you speak to the Councils, as I just cite, a couple of weeks ago with the Liverpool Mayor, they have literally tens of thousands of blocks potentially to come online, but they’ve got a balance sheet that doesn’t support investment into some of the road infrastructure.
So our numbers are based on those discussions with literally hundreds of councils, with the experts and with economists and others who know this space very well. It stands to reason, of course, that if the reason that a land development can’t go ahead is because of constraints around water and sewerage, providing that support will allow that land to be developed and ultimately for homes to be built, and that’s what this policy is about.
QUESTION:
Where are you getting $5 billion from?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, we’ve got obviously a lot of waste that the Government’s presiding over at the moment, they’ve employed 36,000 more public servants in Canberra. We’ve supported the Government in sensible savings measures and we’ll provide all of our costings details as would normally be the case closer to the election.
I think what Australians know is that if we want to get our country back on track, we’ve got to spend money efficiently and we need to spend it wisely, and that’s what Coalition Governments do. Labor always waste money, it’s why they always have to tax more, and we will be a responsible Government that will get the economy back on track and also restore the great dream of Australian home ownership.
QUESTION:
On your energy pitch for WA – unless there’s more housing questions – if the Coalition is elected, when would the nuclear plant be built in Collie? Or when would work start if the Coalition was elected?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, in the policy, as you know, we’ve spoken about the first site in 2035 to 2037.
In Collie yesterday I met obviously, as you know, with the Shire President, with the CEO, with all of the Councillors there, and it was a very productive meeting. They want jobs in their local community and that’s exactly what we can deliver through this energy policy.
The problem with the Government’s renewables only policy at the moment is that it doesn’t support heavy industry and it doesn’t support 24/7 power. California is the only international example that you can cite where they’ve gone down a renewables only policy, the prices are through the roof.
If you think you’re paying a lot for your electricity bill now, under Anthony Albanese over the next couple of years, the bill is going to go and go through the roof and it’s going to continue, and we’re also now talking about blackouts under Labor’s policy. So you need to firm up that renewable power, which is what the seven sites will do, and we’ll have more to say in relation to our energy policy over the course of the couple of months as well.
QUESTION:
So you don’t know yet when work would start in Collie on building that?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, we’ve outlined that the start will be 2035 to ’37 and it will roll out then into the early 2040s. At the moment the Government has no answer to this. It’s a really interesting question actually, and it’s a good one to ask the Government, because with 90 per cent of baseload power going out of the system by 2034, they’re talking about green hydrogen. Well, as you well know in WA, Andrew Forrest has now realised by walking away from green hydrogen, that there’s no commercial investment to be made, it requires nine litres of water for every unit produced, and it’s just not going to happen. So…
QUESTION:
Wouldn’t it be batteries though, for baseload power in WA?
PETER DUTTON:
Well again, the greatest batteries at the moment last four hours. For hospitals with ICU wards and for cold storage and for smelters and for heavy manufacturing in the mining sector here or in manufacturing more generally, they need 24/7 power.
I’d love for batteries to be 24 hours of storage or 48 hours, but on a great sunny day like today, we get a good yield out of solar yesterday, when we were down in the South West, it was an overcast day and the solar not only can’t deliver power in that environment, it can’t charge the batteries. You’ve also got another 28,000km of poles and wires that are required under Labor’s plan, and that’s why people are going to pay through the nose for their electricity under Mr Albanese.
QUESTION:
Can you say how many jobs exactly would be created in Collie during construction and then ongoing?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, there is an international example of this where – and again you can have a look at what Oracle is doing in the United States at the moment, what Google, Microsoft, etc., etc.. They are signing up to nuclear power because they need the stability of that power. Now, an area like Collie could easily attract an AI facility, data storage facility, heavy industry is attracted to an area where there’s a lower cost because they don’t have the distribution costs.
They also have a stable 24/7 power, and in international examples, if you look at what’s happened in Ontario or Wyoming, it has attracted those industries. At the moment, though, Google and Microsoft aren’t coming to Australia because we don’t have stable energy supply. In Victoria, they’re talking about importing gas to keep the lights on, which is an outrage, and all of that comes at a heavy cost. When you have that heavy energy cost and that burden, it’s not just for your household bill, if you’re an IGA store owner or if you’re a farmer or a cold storage place, you’re passing all of that cost on, and that’s why inflation and interest rates are always higher under Labor as well.
QUESTION:
So how many jobs during construction in Collie?
PETER DUTTON:
Well, we’ll have a look at all of that detail in time because we haven’t released the detail about the small modular reactor in Collie or the other six sites. So that detail will come. But again, if you look at the international example, about 77 per cent of coal jobs transfer across into the nuclear industry, they’re higher paid jobs, and they’re also – and this is a very important point to make – there are many more jobs in the nuclear sector, not just higher paid jobs, but more jobs than what we see in renewables. So we’re all in favour of renewables, but we need to firm it up when that part time power is not.
QUESTION:
How tough is your task of selling this to the people of Collie when you can’t say how many jobs it will create or how much it’s going to cost?
PETER DUTTON:
The Government can’t answer the question at the moment what jobs there will be in Collie after the power station closes. Now, at the moment we’ve got Labor Governments extending the life…
QUESTION:
But in terms of your task.
PETER DUTTON:
In terms of the extension of coal fired power station sites – that’s what Labor is doing now, right? So likely because green hydrogen is not a reality. Coal is going to continue into the 2040s under Labor’s policy. They won’t tell you that, but that’s what’s happening at the moment in Victoria and New South Wales and here in WA where the Cook Government is extending the life of Collie but they can’t tell you what will happen to those communities afterwards. I can, because we’ve got of the top 20 economies in the world, Australia is the only one that hasn’t embraced or signed up to nuclear and you can look at…
QUESTION:
Well, you can’t yet because you can’t say how many jobs there will be yet or how much it’s going to cost.
PETER DUTTON:
Again, that depends on the size of the – I’m not trying to be difficult with your question, but when you think about it, it depends on the size of the reactor, which we haven’t yet announced. It depends then on the infrastructure that can be created around it, because part of the arrangement, as we discussed with the council yesterday, is that we want to invest into those local communities for their infrastructure, and that’s part of the benefit that flows into those local communities. The Prime Minister is just promising a loss of jobs, and I think many of these local communities, like Collie, will wilt when the jobs close and there’s nothing to replace it.
The beauty of nuclear is that not only is it zero emissions, it’s embraced by every left wing government in a comparable economy in the UK, in France, in Canada, all of the Labor Party leaders there are arguing for more nuclear into the system. Anthony Albanese must know something that every other world leader doesn’t know. I mean, what is their problem? They support AUKUS and they support the nuclear submarines. But I want to deliver cheaper electricity, I want there to be stable power supply and I want to decarbonise.
I think the Labor Party will eventually get on board but I think at the moment, they’re just lead by Prime Minister who’s got one eye on retirement and he’s forgotten about the rest of Australia.
Yeah, okay? Thank you very much.
ENDS
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