Industry groups say the extra costs of construction union agreements compound rising materials and financing costs to make housing projects unprofitable.
fell to an 11-year low over the four quarters to March, prompting building and infrastructure groups to list union pay and condition agreements among the rising costs and hurdles holding back the development of much-needed housing.
“Australian builders are willing and able to build new homes, but they are being held back by worker shortages, restrictive and costly union pattern EBAs, slow building approvals and high taxes,” Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn said. The official figures published on Wednesday showed privately funded attached home commencements slipped 3.1 per cent in the March quarter from December to 14,071 while detached house starts rose 4.8 per cent to 25,072 in seasonally adjusted terms.
“The reason our country built such significant housing supply back in 2016 was the significant contribution of residential apartments, and the question is how far has union influence contributed to this decline and increased construction cost since,” CCF national chief executive Nicholas Proud said.
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