An elected Dutton Coalition Government will step up and step in where Labor has failed to, accelerating home construction to meet the needs of Australians.
Across Australia, hundreds of greenfield sites remain undeveloped due to a lack of funding for essential infrastructure like water, power, sewerage, and roads.
On top of this, there are more than 100 housing development projects currently stalled under Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek's glacial environmental approvals process.
As part of our plan to tackle Labor's housing crisis, a Coalition Government will immediately take action to finalise existing residential development environmental approval applications. We will set a target of clearing Labor's backlog within 12 months and any project already stuck in the approvals process for more than a year will be finalised within six months.
We will establish Investment Australia to drive productivity reform across the economy, with a key focus on building and construction by:
expediting hundreds of project approvals;
setting firm timelines for each outstanding residential development project in collaboration with the relevant department; and
simplifying environmental assessment processes, including clarifying the rules for environmental offsets.
These measures build on the Coalition's $5 billion Housing Infrastructure Programme to fund enabling infrastructure to get 500,000 homes built faster, and the Coalition's commitment to freeze the National Construction Code to provide certainty to the industry and let builders get on with the job of building homes for Australians.
Recent changes to the NCC have increased the compliance burden for new housing projects, driving up costs for purchasers. Stakeholders estimate the Government's recent changes have added up to $60,000 to the price of a new home.
Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Peter Dutton MP, said Labor's housing crisis is hurting all Australians, from the young couple delaying starting a family due to rising costs, to the parents delaying retirement to help their children afford a home.
"Under Labor, the aspiration of home ownership has become out of reach. Labor has completely dropped the ball on unlocking new housing supply, with developments completely stalled in their broken approvals process.
"The Coalition will break through Labor's bottlenecks and unlock new housing through our comprehensive plan to deliver new supply. We will hold every part of government accountable to get the job done - because Australians cannot afford more Labor delays which only drive up costs."
Shadow Treasurer, the Hon Angus Taylor MP, said a collapse in home ownership has profound implications not just for our aspirational character, but the costs of our retirement system.
"The challenge requires every lever to be pulled to unlock supply and reduce the costs of construction. This announcement builds on Investment Australia's mandate to make it cheaper to build, finance, and power our country."
Shadow Minister for Housing, the Hon Michael Sukkar MP, said "over the past three years housing approvals, commencements and completions have stalled - so an elected Dutton Coalition Government will be taking matters into our own hands and stepping up for so many Australians who suffered under Labor.
"The Coalition has a comprehensive solution to Labor's housing crisis-tackling key issues such as the deposit hurdle, access to finance and serviceability, housing supply, deregulation, and now, faster approvals-all areas where Labor has failed to act."
Shadow Minister for the Environment, Senator Jonno Duniam, said "environmental approval timeframes have blown out under Labor, and the average age of the residential developments currently awaiting assessment is more than five years. This new policy is a part of the Coalition's plan to halve approval times and get Australia back on track.
"You can responsibly manage housing developments while maintaining environmental standards. This policy will create supply in a sustainable way that could benefit hundreds of thousands of Australians who are waiting to buy a home."
Only the Coalition has a plan to fix Labor's housing crisis and get Australia back on track.
