Home Builders Action Group to campaign against MPs in marginal seats over choice to support housing industry

Homebuilders aided by former Labor Premier Brian Burke are threatening to campaign against MPs in marginal seats who refuse to back a significantly expanded bailout package for the embattled industry. The Home Builders Action Group is in the process of selecting up to eight electorates for coordinated doorknocking, telephone calls and social media messaging designed to raise awareness about the headwinds facing construction firms. HBAG has emailed every State MP to gauge their attitude towards “an industry assistance package” that would help builders recoup their losses on builds signed up in the wake of COVID-era stimulus grants that have since incurred significant cost escalations. The email, from HBAG chairman Jason Janssen, was sent one day after Opposition Leader Shane Love used parliamentary privilege to claim major homebuilder Nicheliving had between 300 and 500 unfinished homes on its books. “HBAG is unashamedly committed to making HOUSING a major election issue,” Mr Janssen wrote. “The problems reported yesterday about (Nicheliving) should be a surprise to no-one – HBAG has been warning of these dangers and their worsening for many months.” The email gives MPs a July 19 deadline to respond to a series of questions “to determine attitudes to the problems impacting the housing industry”. “HBAG is non-party political, so it is likely that we will campaign for or against candidates from different parties because our support will be based solely on the candidate’s attitude to the home building industry and to solving its problems,” it warns. The “anticipated campaign” – in a “maximum of eight seats” – would include “contacting electors directly by doorknocking, telephoning and by email”, distributing pamphlets and a “thorough social media campaign”. The major escalation in HBAG’s political intervention comes six months after the Cook Government announced a $10 million financial lifeline for builders to complete houses that have been under construction for more than two years. As revealed by The West Australian, Mr Burke helped HBAG lobby for the interest-free loans, which are capped at a maximum of $300,000 per company. The West Australian understands Mr Burke has received $5000 from HBAG for his assistance, which has extended to the most recent email campaign. Mr Janssen said HBAG was trying to “use the tools available to us to get results” and that the nearly 200 builders who were members of the group were still in desperate need of “immediate support”. “The $10 million set aside so far is insignificant compared to what it should be and needs to be increased dramatically,” he said. “We are after a support package for the building industry to assist with historic losses that builders couldn’t legally pass on to their clients.” Those losses date back to the early days of the COVID pandemic, when both the State and Federal Governments announced grants – totalling $45,000 – for the construction of new homes. The stimulus spurred massive demand, which Mr Janssen claimed turned into a disaster because the State Government initially required work to begin within three months. While acknowledging some builders blinded by dollar signs “took on too many contracts”, Mr Janssen claimed “90 per cent” signed up only what they could handle but were undone by border closures and supply chain disruptions that drove up labour and material costs. He said builders now faced a choice between completing those “loss-making” homes and sending themselves broke, or parking those contracts in favour of more recent builds that offered a profit. The only way to break the deadlock, according to Mr Janssen, was for the Government to drastically step up its financial support. He revealed no Labor MP had replied to HBAG’s email, with the group instead told to expect a response from Commerce Minister Sue Ellery. Mr Burke said housing was poised to dominate the next election. “The builders’ assistance package announced by the Government in January did not result in any assistance being provided until June and I think it is only now dawning on all parties how serious the problem is,” he said. “There is not another issue that is so destructive of families and communities as the lack of housing at affordable prices.”