The Prime Minister’s announcement of the Federal Government’s $15 million investment to alleviate the acute timber shortage will safeguard the viability of building and construction businesses around the country.
Chief Executive Officer of Master Builders Australia, Denita Wawn, said the Australian Government’s intervention will result in the supply of enough new timber to support the construction of 10,000 new homes and sighs of relief from builders, tradespersons and their clients.
“This comes at a crucial time for thousands of builders and tradespersons whose viability is threatened by a surge in the price of timber and chronic delays of up to 3 months to access the timber needed to construct new homes and renovations,” Ms Wawn said.
“Subsidising the transport of salvaged timber from plantations on bushfire ravaged Kangaroo Island to timber mills with immediate capacity in South Australia and other states is elegant in its practicality.”
“This move is a ‘no-brainer’ that will underpin the continued success of the HomeBuilder scheme that is fulfilling the dreams of first homeownership for thousands of people and playing a major role in accelerating economic recovery as we begin to look to the future beyond COVID-19 lockdowns,” she said.
“Supporting jobs and businesses in communities ravaged by the fires and reeling from economic impact of the pandemic is also a big win which Master Builders alliance with the Australian Forest Products Association helped bring about.”
“Master Builders has worked closely with the Federal Government to push for this outcome, in particular the Federal Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing, the Minister for Forestry, Fisheries and Industry Development and the Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia,” Ms Wawn concluded.
