Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the big problems in fixing Labor's housing crisis is the alarming increase in building costs. Timber costs alone have risen more than 200 per cent since the COVID-19 pandemic. The costs of plumbing materials, like copper and PVC, have risen by about 100 per cent in the same time. The costs of electrical materials have risen almost 200 per cent. Compounding these costs are the various taxes which make up at least 44 per cent of the price of new homes. Excessive regulation delays approvals. It's like having a foot on the accelerator and the brake pedal at the same time.

We need to accelerate construction, but Labor governments are putting too many speed bumps in the way. One of the biggest speed bumps is the new requirement to make all new homes disability compliant, with wider hallways and equipped bathrooms. Building a compliant bathroom can cost up to $20,000 more than building a normal bathroom. In the effort to be inclusive, Labor governments are excluding more Australians from homeownership. Australians building homes should be free to have them built to their own requirements, and most of them don't need disability compliant homes that cost them tens of thousands of dollars more.

One Nation today announces a policy for a five-year moratorium on GST being charged on essential building materials for homes up to the value of $1 million. This will give the building sector much-needed breathing room, improve housing affordability and better allow Australia to catch up on our massive housing shortfall. This policy is part of our plan to slash government waste, put more money in Australians' pockets, pay down debt and invest in Australia's future. This plan will cost $1.4 billion over the next four years. Labor's housing fund is $10 billion, plus $40 million in administrative costs, and not one house has been built yet. You'd be better putting the money into the pockets of Australians. If you got rid of the GST, you'd have a lot more Australians in their own homes.