Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to highlight the economic boost that HomeBuilder has given Western Australia's south coast, most of which lies in my electorate of O'Connor. Since the federal government launched HomeBuilder in June 2020, about $107 million of residential building work has been approved in the six months to December. That's $50 million, or 86 per cent, more than in the same period in 2019.

The city of Albany has seen $62 million of home building approvals, up by 75 per cent. Prior to HomeBuilder, residential approvals had been on the slide since 2016. This positive trend in Albany has been replicated in other O'Connor towns and shires. Manjimup, famous for its majestic Karri Forest, has seen the value of approvals soar by 177 per cent. In the tourist mecca of Denmark, $14.3 million worth of building work has been approved, up 78 per cent. Esperance, whose beaches have been voted the best in Australia, has seen approvals jump by 115 per cent. And the shire of Jerramungup, which includes the coastal tourist town of Bremer Bay, the magnificent Fitzgerald River National Park and the Bremer Canyon whale watching hotspot, has seen approvals up by 66 per cent. Most impressive of all, the remote shire of Dundas, on the WA-South Australian border, has seen an incredible 440 per cent rise in approvals.

In closing, I reiterate that this HomeBuilder-driven housing boom is not only supporting regional economies but also creating employment and training opportunities for people in my electorate of O'Connor.

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