July 3 2018 McGowan inaction hurting housing sector Western Australian housing approvals have fallen for 12 consecutive months according Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released today. Shadow Housing Minister Peter Collier said the data reflected real weakness and a lack of confidence across the housing and property sector. “The McGowan Government’s policy decision to cut the $5,000 First Home Owners Grant Boost saw the start of the decline,” Mr Collier said. “A raft of new taxes and increases to a range of household and business fees and charges is taking discretionary expenditure out of the economy. “In addition, stagnant wage growth, falling house prices and McGowan Government policies that undermine demand for housing are all hurting the sector. “Industry is concerned that, despite Mark McGowan’s public commentary that the economy is improving, the harsh reality for the housing sector is that it is currently going backwards. “So this softness in the housing and property sector is having a significant flow-on effect to the WA economy. “We can see further evidence of the downturn in the spate of construction companies being forced to the wall. “Mark McGowan needs to take his head out of the sand and look at today’s ABS data which clearly demonstrates the housing sector is in decline. “This is not an aberration. This is a clear and sustained downward trend that is hurting the WA housing and construction sector and is impacting on WA jobs.” Mr Collier said for every new house constructed, four jobs are generated over the life of the construction. “Mark McGowan must stand up with this important industry and outline exactly how he is going to support and stimulate this sector, rather than just crossing his fingers and hoping for the best,” Mr Collier said. Media Contact |
