Question time - Federal stimulus package and housing

04-06-2009

Mr ALLAN SHEARAN: My question is addressed to the Premier. What is the latest information on the Government's delivery of the Commonwealth's housing stimulus package?

Mr NATHAN REES: I thank my colleague for his interest in this important issue and his longstanding concern for the residents in public housing in New South Wales. Housing the old, the frail, the sick and the needy is deeply important, at least to this side of the House. The Commonwealth Government's staggering $6.4 billion investment in social housing—

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Terrigal to order for the second time.

Mr NATHAN REES: —is the most momentous news in social housing since Ben Chifley and Bill McKell signed the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement in 1945. I cannot conceive of any government, other than a Labor government, making such a massive investment to help our nation's most disadvantaged. The House would be aware that more than $1 billion was ripped from social housing in New South Wales over the past decade by the Howard Government. But, with John Howard gone, now it is time to reinvest, to make up for past neglect, and to sustain thousands of jobs in the process. Of the Commonwealth's $6.4 spend, $2 billion is coming to New South Wales, allowing us to deliver some 6,000 public housing residencies in New South Wales. On top of that, the New South Wales Government is investing $1 billion from State funds to deliver an additional 3,000 homes.

All told, that means new homes for around 17,000 people. Because this is stimulus funding, it needs to be spent sooner rather than later, so we do not see layoffs in the building trades. That means that the time frame is extremely tight. Seventy-five per cent of homes will be completed by December 2010. Hundreds of projects are already underway, and thousands of jobs have already been secured. On 5 May this year the New South Wales Government advised that the social housing stimulus plan had so far secured around 2,100 jobs. On 14 May that figure had risen to 4,000 jobs. Today I can confirm that over 5,100 jobs have been secured. These figures are all verified by our contractors. Today's jobs figure of 5,100 shows that the Commonwealth's measures—delivered by New South Wales—are working.

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Clarence to order.

Mr NATHAN REES: That rips the Leader of the Opposition's play book to pieces. The Leader of the Opposition opposed the stimulus plan. None of those jobs would have occurred had he ever been near the Treasury benches. The Leader of the Opposition had the opportunity to pass comment on a $42 billion stimulus package from the Federal Government, which he opposed. The Leader of the Opposition is on the record as having opposed the package. It is recorded in Hansard, and the Leader of the Opposition knows it.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will cease interjecting.

Mr NATHAN REES: The Leader of the Opposition wants longer job queues, he wants to talk New South Wales down, and he wants lower gross domestic product. We will pull out all stops to deny him those things, because jobs for working families actually matter. New South Wales is leading the pack on the stimulus rollout. The New South Wales Government put in place special legislation straightaway. We set up an expert task force, headed by Bob Leece—who was instrumental in the delivery of the Olympic Games infrastructure—and that task force went to work straightaway. Thanks to our good work, New South Wales delivered the first new home in Australia under the stimulus plan.
Two weeks ago I was pleased to inspect with the Federal Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek, a new four-bedroom dwelling in western Sydney. It is now home to a family with three children, one of whom has a disability. This home went up in just 13 weeks and is an emphatic down payment on other homes to come. But what did business have to say? Mr Tony Costantino, Chief Executive Officer of Bovis Lend Lease, said:

These projects will provide a vital economic stimulus [and will] create local employment opportunities that will leave a legacy of upgraded skills and experience.

I will repeat that for the Leader of the Opposition:

These projects will provide a vital economic stimulus—

The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Murray-Darling to order.

Mr NATHAN REES: Mr Nigel Oliver, TSA Management Program Director, added that the stimulus package:

… will help increase the supply of social housing, improve opportunities for the homeless and stimulate the building and construction industry, thereby retaining existing jobs and creating new jobs.

That is a stimulus in anyone's language. Stage one of the stimulus plan is for an extra 850 homes. By the end of this week almost half of those properties—some 400 properties—will be under way, securing hundreds of jobs in places such as Armidale, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Booragul, Guildford, Queanbeyan and North Parramatta. In the rush of new building work let us remember the stimulus plan also allocated significant funds for maintenance, with $130 million coming to New South Wales. That money complements our own funding, including the record $200 million that was brought forward in December of last year in public housing maintenance funding to create and sustain jobs in the building trades.

That money means new bathrooms and kitchens, new paintwork, new carpet, plumbing and rewiring. There are 58,000 projects in all, giving existing social housing tenants the decent surroundings they need and deserve. Because the Government undertakes rental property inspections, the various jobs are well documented and work began without delay. In fact, 12,500 of these jobs have already been completed and 75 per cent will be completed inside the next two years. The results are there for all to see: 400 homes underway, 5,100 jobs secured, 12,500 maintenance jobs done—all opposed by those opposite. On this side of the House we have builders, on the other side of the House we have wreckers.