The State Government’s new dwellings target “remains out of reach” and regulatory reforms are necessary to address the issue, a peak construction group says.
Master Builders Queensland CEO Paul Bidwell, in a statement released today, said housing approvals were heading in the wrong direction.
“After a couple of months of good gains, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that total approvals across the state dropped back again in October, both for houses (-11.9 percent) and units (-18.2 percent),” he said.
“Again, we have another set of results where the government target of 50,000 new dwellings per year in Queensland remains out of reach, with only 35,033 approved in the preceding 12 months.”
Mr Bidwell said Master Builders had lodged its submission in support of the Crisafulli Government’s Queensland Productivity Commission Bill 2024
“We have hailed the re-establishment of the Queensland Productivity Commission as a win, as we continue to advocate for the slashing of the red tape hampering construction,” her said.
“While (the) ABS figures are largely positive across the three-month trend, any fall in housing supply is unacceptable in the face of a housing crisis.
“That’s why it is crucial government works with industry to clear the way for us to get on with building the homes and community projects we need.”
Mr Bidwell said the building approvals were patchy across the state with big gains in areas like Mackay & Whitsunday (+28.6 percent), Wide Bay Burnett (+25.9 percent), and Central Queensland (+16.5 percent) but falls on the Sunshine Coast (-16.2 percent) and in North Queensland (-22.4 percent).
The Master Builders’ submission on the Queensland Productivity Commission Bill 2024 is available here.
