Building extension

ANXIOUS new homeowners waiting for the first slab pour will breathe a sigh of relief with the extension of the Homebuilder program.

Significant weather events and weeks of prolonged rain meant thousands of homes to be built under the scheme in North Queensland were delayed.

Earlier this year, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg met with Maidment Group managing director Glen Maidment to discuss the issues North Queensland was facing, with many first slab pours destined to miss the deadline.

But now, builders will have another six months to get started on new homes, bringing relief to local buyers.

In North Queensland, building approvals for single detached dwellings are up 162 per cent for the period to February 2021, when compared with the previous 12 months.

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said this extension was a result of campaigning from Townsville.

He said it wasn’t a win for him, but the Townsville development and building industry and the people who snapped up the chance to own their own home. “We were so far behind … there was potential to have thousands of people miss out and it’s not their fault,” Mr Thompson said.

The new extension will not only allow for new applications, but for ones already signed to be fulfilled.

Builders will now have 18 months to start construction to all contracts that were signed between June 4, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

Mr Thompson said the most important thing was people who signed contracts would not miss out. “First homeowners and young families who wouldn’t have been able to break into the market if it wasn’t for Homebuilder,” he said.

“(There is) nothing they could have done for the weather events and shortage of supply (of contractors).”

Mr Thompson said this was a “special” moment for Townsville, because it was the people in the city who had changed government policy.

“We’re the capital of the North, but we’re not a capital city, it shows that our voices are working for the right reasons … for the betterment of not just Townsville … but the nation,” he said.

Housing Industry Association managing director Graham Woolfe said this would be a lifeline for tradies and would help support tens of thousands of first home buyers to achieve their dream homes.

“Yet members have been severely impacted by global supply constraints and labour pressures. Builders and their clients have also been juggling delays in finance approvals, planning and building approvals and land title,” Mr Woolfe said.