Housing construction, first home owner grants and regional home building will get a boost from the Queensland government’s latest stimulus measures to support economic recovery post-pandemic.
The state announced a $267 million building boost in a move said to also deliver jobs for electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, concreters and landscapers on Tuesday.
Forming the second tranche of the state government’s jobs plan, the package includes $100 million towards housing construction as part of the Works for Tradies program.
Contracts to start construction on 215 new social homes by the end of 2021 are expected to be signed, with the scheme to see new social housing at the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton Gladstone, Moreton Bay, Wide Bay, Toowoomba and Ipswich.
The package includes $106 million of first home owner grants for buyers purchasing a new home valued less than $750,000, and an additional $5000 grant for buyers of a new home valued under $750,000 in a regional location.
The announcement also includes $10 million pledged to 2000 seniors to support renovation works of up to $5000 for repairs, maintenance and security works as home improvements.
The government has also committed $1.175 million to upgrade existing TAFE campuses.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement as part of Queensland’s second stage of the Unite and Recover for Queensland jobs plan, unveiled last month.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Queensland’s housing and construction sector—a critical employer of skilled tradies across the state,” Palaszczuk said.
It’s expected 500 projects would start by the end of September, an additional 500 projects by the end of this year, with a further 1000 projects to be under way by mid-2021.
The announcement comes as federal and state governments look to construction and infrastructure to drive economic recovery, urged on by industry bodies following Covid-19.
The Queensland stimulus follows the federal government’s announcement it will fast-track 15 large-scale priority infrastructure projects by reducing approval time from an environmental standpoint, with the projects across Australia said to be worth $72 billion.
