MASTER BUILDERS ACT 2024 Election Priorities

On 19 October 2024, Canberrans will vote for a new ACT Government. The current government and opposition have prepared their teams and adjusted their portfolios and key positions, with all three major parties having now nominated their candidates.

While independent candidates are not uncommon in the ACT, this year’s election has been made more interesting by a group of independent candidates who will run under the banner of ‘Independents for Canberra’.

For the building and construction industry, the ACT election is an opportunity to engage with candidates to discuss the impact of their policies on our industry, and to make suggestions for policies that will build a stronger ACT building and construction industry.

Our industry is important to the ACT economy, employing 19,079 Canberrans according to ABS November 2023 data. This is equivalent to 7.1% of all jobs in the ACT.

For any candidate wanting to grow the ACT’s economy, the contribution of our industry should not go unnoticed. Latest ABS figures show the value of building and construction work done over the year to June 2023 totalled $4.13 billion. For every dollar invested in building and construction, a three-times economic multiplier is generated. This is largely due to ACT construction businesses mostly comprising of small family businesses who reinvest their profits in local employment, training, goods and services.

For all the talk from politicians about supporting small businesses, many don’t truly understand the pressure, complexity and difficulty of running a small business. Members tell us that keeping up with the introduction of new legislation and changing rules is near impossible without the help of industry associations and other support networks. The ACT Government hasn’t made this easier, passing more than 125 new laws or subordinate legislation that impacted our industry in 2023. The next ACT Government must seek to understand the building and construction industry and engage with our members to appreciate the full cost of their policies on local businesses.

With a growing population comes a need to build more housing and infrastructure, which will require a larger building and construction industry. MBA Australia estimates that around 7,000 new construction workers are required in the ACT by November 2026.

Increasing the workforce starts by increasing investment in training of apprentices. Despite an increase in Federal Government skills funding, the ACT Government still provides the lowest level of subsidy for carpentry and plumbing apprentices of any state or territory in Australia. The next ACT Government must address this funding shortfall.

Investing in skills alone won’t solve the Territory’s housing crisis. Continued planning reform, increased land release and reducing risk and uncertainty in the development approval process are needed if we are to approach meeting the ACT’s commitments under the National Housing Accord.

Planning our city based on an agreed long-term infrastructure plan will also help provide a pipeline of future capital works, which will provide local contractors certainty about the pipeline of government funded infrastructure ahead of them.

The MBA will continue to campaign for strong builder regulations that improve building quality and provide a fairer system of holding building practitioners to account for the work they complete. The ACT’s building quality system

Planning our city based on an agreed long-term infrastructure plan will also help provide a pipeline of future capital works, which will provide local contractors certainty about the pipeline of government funded infrastructure ahead of them. has significant gaps with no accountability system for the structural trades, poor accountability for building design professionals, and an under-funded building regulator and dispute resolution process.

The 2024 ACT election will be vitally important for the future of Canberra. The MBA looks forward to engaging with the candidates throughout the year and will always represent our members in a strong, apolitical and evidence-based manner.