The federal government has launched a $688 million HomeBuilder grants scheme it says will keep 140,000 jobs in the construction industry through the recession.
Before the virus, the sector forecast 171,000 new builds would start this year but that has now dropped to 111,000.Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the sector is"critically important" to the economy, contributing more than $100 billion to GDP.
"It will mean more new homes, more small businesses and jobs are protected and provide a stronger bridge to economic recovery for our country," she said in a statement. Opposition housing spokesman Jason Clare said this week a grants program might encourage an extra 10,000 or 15,000 people to sign building contracts, and failing to build or improve public housing and address homelessness would be a massive missed opportunity.Treasury expects 850,000 people to return to work and more than $9 billion a month to be added to the economy with the easing of coronavirus restrictions.
"The advice to me is that the June quarter will be significantly worse than the 0.3 per cent contraction we saw in the March quarter," he said.
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