The Honourable Roger Cook MLA
Premier of Western Australia
13th Floor Dumas House
2 Havelock St
WEST PERTH WA 6005
cc. Hon. Libby Mettam MLA
My dear Premier
The collapse of Collier Homes is just the tip of the iceberg. Unless the Government acts quickly to implement measures to assist home buyers and their builders the position will worsen very dramatically.
We all know the problems:
- Homebuyers confronting collapsing builders leaving unfinished homes; unmanageable cost increases and insufficient insurance cover;
- Well-intentioned Government stimulus that simply added to the already overheated demand and made things worse;
- Building collapses at rates not previously seen;
- A seismic shift in labour away from building to, mainly, the resources industry;
- Spiralling costs; and
- A Home Building Contracts Act that is making the problem worse.
The result is a diminished industry without the capacity to meet the community’s needs as reflected in Government targets.
And that means
• Fewer homes being built when demand is greater;
• A distorted rental market with fewer rentals available;
• Rents no one can afford;
• More expensive public or social housing; and
• Increased homelessness.
If any persuasive and concrete proof is still required, the Government should look no further than the rental market. Families living in cars, and as many as 200 renters competing for the same rental while waiting lists for public housing balloon out into years.
A perfect example of the problem is seen in the No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS). The Scheme was announced as an emergency measure in January, now, in late April, not made a single loan has been made. and
The NILS should be just the first part of a sensible Industry Assistance Package that addresses:
- The funding crisis resulting from 2 years of losses by assistance with legacy and loss-making contracts resulting ill-advised stimulus programmes from the shortcomings of the Act;
- Indemnity schemes that work and don’t leave builders and homeowners high and dry; and
3. The need for a much closer working relationship between the industry and government.
HBAG accepts that the assistance package must be targeted and that resources are limited. That’s why it suggests linking the assistance to the contracts turned into loss makers by the Government’s policies and building laws. Current and immediate past (two or three years) contracts that fall into this category will ensure the assistance helps builders and home buyers who have been affected and limits the total assistance.
Unless the Government recognises the problems and acts quickly to combat the difficulty confronting home buyers and small to medium builders as a result of well-intentioned but wrong-headed stimulus grants, HBAG fears there will be many more collapses impacting many more families
Best wishes
Yours sincerely
Jason Janssen
CHAIRMAN
Home Builders Action group [HBAG]
jason@hbag.com.au
0412 373 404
Damien D’Ascenzo
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
Home Builders Action group [HBAG]
damien@hbag.com.au
0403 066 028