May 3 2018 Housing approvals slump a result of McGowan’s policies Housing approvals have fallen 14% since the McGowan Government was elected and has fallen every month since the First Home Owners Grant boost was abolished, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released today has revealed. Shadow Housing Minister Peter Collier said there were 162 fewer housing approvals in March 2018 compared to June 2017, the month the First Home Owners Grant boost was removed, and it was time the Government took decisions to reverse the trend. “Every single month since the McGowan Government abolished the First Home Owners Grant boost, housing approvals have fallen” Mr Collier said. “Each month, approvals are fewer than the month before. “This should be a wakeup call for the Government to make a decision, and that decision should be to reinstate the First Home Owners Grant boost. “The Government went to the election talking about jobs, but their decision to cut the First Home Owners Grant has hit the construction industry as well as plumbers, electricians and other trades.” Mr Collier said the ABS data show that, in seasonally adjusted terms, more West Australian were looking for work in March 2018 than at any time since records began in 1978. “We need to create more opportunities for people to work, not deny them those opportunities,” Mr Collier said. “The evidence is clear for all to see. The restoration of the First Home Owners Grant boost can reverse this trend and boost jobs in this important industry. “The boost was introduced by the previous Government to maintain confidence in the new housing market and support jobs. “It was a deliberate decision of the former Government to ensure the boost remained and clearly, the removal of it is having a detrimental impact on new housing constructions and the associated jobs that go with it. “If the Government does not restore the boost in next week’s budget, it will demonstrate quite clearly they are not committed to jobs at all.”
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