Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. How is the current fuel crisis impacting housing construction? How is the Albanese Labor government responding?

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Brisbane for her question, and I acknowledge her outstanding advocacy for better housing opportunities for her wonderful constituents.

The war in the Middle East is impacting Australia's economy, and as housing minister I am particularly concerned about the effect on housing construction. At the outset, I want to acknowledge the enormously constructive way this sector has engaged with me and with our government on some of the challenges they are facing. The Master Builders Australia, HIA, civil contractors, construction workers and others have been meeting regularly with me and my office and helping us understand the situation that they face today and indeed what is likely to happen over the coming weeks. They are strong partners of ours and are enormously strong advocates for their members.

Industry have been really clear with us about two main things. First, of course, construction is an essential industry to our country. It is also amongst the largest users of diesel across the Australian economy. When fuel prices rise and when supply is disrupted in some way, that flows directly and immediately on to our construction industry and to our builders. Fuel is also a key part of the manufacturing process of materials that builders rely on. I think the parliament would be aware of the discussion that's been happening in recent weeks about PVC piping; that is a good in which oil is a direct input. The countries we usually buy that product from are experiencing issues managing the fuel shortages.

There is one very important and immediate priority that the sector has put to me, and that is our government doing everything that we can to secure fuel supply. That is why the work of the Prime Minister and the work of the Minister for Climate Change and Energy—which they've spoken to the parliament about this week—is so important to our economy. The minister for energy has talked about releasing fuel reserves and adjusting standards so we can stretch supply further, and there's been the work of Export Finance Australia and the government in using the global and diplomatic channels that we have to make sure that we're at the front of the queue for future supply.

The work with National Cabinet, of course, is absolutely essential. State premiers are helping us to make sure that fuel is getting to the parts of the country where it's most needed. The Treasurer and the Minister for Small Business announced today some of the leniency and support that will be offered to small business, which is absolutely critical for construction. I think the parliament would understand that this is a sector that is heavily dominated by small and microbusinesses, and they are going to need that support.

The sector enters this challenge on a more stable foundation than it has been on. When we arrived in office, construction costs were rising at 17.3 per cent, the highest in 50 years. On last count, they were rising at 1.8 per cent. That doesn't mean there won't be challenges ahead. We'll work with the sector in partnership to manage them.