Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's HomeBuilder grant is helping Australians build a home of their own, while at the same time supporting construction jobs through to 2022 and helping drive our economy's comeback from the COVID-19 recession?

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Chisholm for her question. She is undoubtedly somebody who fights for all the people in her electorate who work in the residential construction industry and for the many thousands of Australians who are being assisted by the Morrison government to purchase a new home or to purchase their first home. I'm very pleased to report to the House that yesterday the Treasurer and I announced a three-month extension to the HomeBuilder program.

Mr Hill interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce is warned.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The HomeBuilder program has seen detached housing sales increase by 31 per cent. This has seen loan approvals for new housing up by 20 per cent into the September quarter, which is the highest level for 10 years. What does this all mean? What do these new home sales mean? Support for the residential construction industry, which employs up to one million people, from the tradies on site—the carpenters, the plumbers and the electricians—all the way to the timber mill workers and those who build the frames and trusses—

Mr Hill interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce is rightly packing up. He will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Bruce then left the chamber.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was telling those opposite about the importance of the HomeBuilder program. It has been supporting those one million jobs. That is what this government has done with HomeBuilder. That's why yesterday we announced a three-month extension to the program. This extension will also allow every single person who has made an application and signed a contract to have six months to start their project rather than three months. This is necessary because demand for the program has been so great that builders have said to the government, 'We need more time to fit in all these customers.' This will mean that this pipeline of work will continue all the way to 2022.

Yesterday the Treasurer and I were at a Stockland site. Importantly, the managing director and CEO of Stockland said in relation to the extension of the HomeBuilder program, 'Stockland now has the opportunity to accelerate an additional $1.5 billion of construction spend across the housing and land market because of this announcement.' Also we had with us the Master Builders Association, the Housing Industry Association and the Property Council. The head of the Property Council said:

HomeBuilder has been the most successful Federal stimulus for the construction industry of the past two decades and has kept hundreds of thousands of Australians employed.

Members opposite have not supported HomeBuilder. They have now had a change of heart. We welcome that support. We back the industry and first home buyers. (Time expired)