A " Tradie " Recovery !

The building industry in Australia changed massively after the end of the second world war.  Prior to that change a builder employed a lot of men who constructed a new home from raw material.  They put in the foundations, cut and nailed up the frame and the builder needed the skill to calculate the roof structure they put together on the job. It was time consuming and costly, and the average home took months to reach completion.

When change occurred it took a " builder " to the new height of a " building manager " because he or she now managed the construction of a house by sub-contractors.  Homes were now built on a concrete slab and this was put in place by specialised crews who dcveloped the skills to do that quickly and cheaply.  The house frame came from a factory, as did the roof trusses and the building trade diverged into specialists who contractedf to deliver their services.  All the associated work was undertaken by a vast army of " tradies " who were generally self employed and skilled in their particular trade.

The Federal government is hoping that we can emerge from the recession caused by the coronavirus by a " tradies " led recovery.   It is considering offering a $25,000 grant to people who order a new home to be built or who order renovations that come close to a new home category.  Construction of a new home or the start of renovations must be contracted to begin from July 4 to December 31 to be eligible for the grant.

It is also required that this work be contracted to commence within three months of the contract signing to avoid a blow out in house prices.  It looks to provide a powerful incentive to get the building industry moving and it is today's building industry that generates vast employment in the factories that contribute the merchadise that goes into home construction.  The reckoning is that if the building industry makes a move the effect will be widespreaed across all sections of the manufacturing industry and this will have a positive effect on employment.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics underline the parlous state of our building industry.Building approvals fell by 1.8% in April and 2.6% in March.  Over the past year 174,719 new homes were approved by councils and this was a twenty-two percent decrease on the average of the past ten years.

It is thought this plan ticks all the boxes.  We have a housing shortage and we badly need a constant supply of new homes to keep the price of homes stable.  Too many people chasing too few homes is certainly one of the causes of the rapid accelleration in house prices to unsustainable levels. In the building industry of today, the number of " tradies " who supply their services number in the millions and are essential in providing construction, painting, pumbing and electrical work.

If this vast workforce is making money, they and their families are also spending money and that is something we badly need to get the rest of the economy moving.  It seems to be a practical step that will deliver an outcome.