WA Liberal Leader Libby Mettam and Shadow Minister for Housing Steve Martin are calling on Premier
Mark McGowan to convene an emergency summit of all stakeholders in the WA building sector in a bid to
chart a way through the unprecedented challenges facing the sector.
Ms Mettam said she was deeply concerned about the future of the home building sector in Western
Australia.
“When we have new building approvals at near record low levels, severe skilled labour shortages, a critical
housing shortage, rising costs, rising interest rates and the State’s biggest home builder announcing it will
not be writing new contracts, we have a crisis,” Ms Mettam said.
“We welcomed the Government’s announcement this week of a joint working committee to look at industry
reform, however this committee was convened only to look at Government building contracts and only
non-residential projects; not nearly the scope the sector desperately needs.”
Ms Mettam said the summit needs to bring together representatives from across the building and
construction industry, housing advocates, local government representatives, consumer groups and other
key stakeholders to identify practical solutions to the challenges facing the sector.
“To date, Premier McGowan’s only response to the crisis has been to tell people how lucky they are to live
in a state with such a booming economy,” she said.
“There are a lot of people out there who are homeless, or bunked in with relatives, or living in their cars, or
have seen their rents soar, or have been waiting years for their house to be built, or can’t ever see
themselves owning a home who don’t feel very lucky.
“The current constraints on the sector have the potential to impact the affordability and availability of
housing in Western Australia for decades to come, this is a critical issue for all Western Australians.”
Shadow Housing Minister Steve Martin said it was time the McGowan Government listened to all players in
the building sector to understand their experiences and what could be done to support them and, most
importantly, to keep roofs over the heads of Western Australians.
“A summit would give an opportunity for the Government to meet collectively with all sector stakeholders
and not only fully understand the extent and nature of the crisis but also hear any innovative ideas on how
the sector can work through the current challenges,” he said.
