‘Urgently needed’: Warm reception for Dutton’s $bn housing promise

A major $5bn plan by the Coalition that it says could unlock 500,000 new homes by enabling critical infrastructure has been welcomed by a peak business organisation.

In a direct attack on Labor’s National Housing Accord, which incentivises states and territories to build 1.2 million new homes by July 2029, Peter Dutton announced a Housing Infrastructure Program (HIP) on Saturday.

The “use it or lose it” funding will help local councils fast-track water, power, sewerage, and access roads through grants and concessional loans, with the Coalition claiming detached housing with backyards is the “cheapest form of housing for first home buyers”.

Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black welcomed the plan in a statement on Saturday.

“We urgently need policies that generate more housing supply and we welcome the Coalition’s commitment to significantly increase housing infrastructure funding,” he said.

“In our landmark housing report, ‘It’s time to say yes to housing’, which will be released on Monday, we specifically call for increased investment to support both local infrastructure programs necessary to unlock housing in specific areas, and large scale development projects that enable more housing across entire regions.

“Housing policies must be squarely focused on boosting supply and building more homes, which is why we need policies that address planning, approvals and zoning, as well as increased infrastructure funding.”

Under the Coalition’s plan, approved projects will need to begin progress within 12 months of the contract date, or the funding will be terminated.

“We know there are hundreds of greenfield sites across the country ready for development, but progress has been stalled due to a lack of funding for essential enabling infrastructure,” a statement announcing the policy said.

“Our approach is focused on investing in enabling infrastructure to unlock the supply of shovel-ready new housing developments.”

The claim will likely be contested by state governments, with NSW Premier Chris Minns repeatedly flagging Sydney is unable to sustain more housing on its western fringe due to the costs associated with ensuring adequate infrastructure around the sites.

Instead the state government has given local councils housing targets, and changed zoning laws to encourage medium and high density builds in well-located areas known as Transport Oriented Development areas.

However the Coalition is expected to point to research from the Centre for International Economics conducted in August 2024 which states the sale cost of a Greenfield home is $790,000, compared to $905,000 for a mid-rise apartment, and $860,000 for a high-rise apartment.

The research says this is due to the increased costs of delivering in-fill apartments, which increased by more than 6 per cent between 2018 to 2023 on four to nine storey apartments.

On Saturday, Mr Dutton will also announce a 10-year freeze on implementing further changes to the National Construction Code, which he states have added costly compliance burdens for new housing projects, with the costs then passed onto consumers.

Earlier this week housing spokesperson Michael Sukkar announced the Coalition would scrap Labor’s 1.2 million housing target if it was elected, accusing it of lying to Australians.

Speaking to ABC, Mr Sukkar said there was “no way” the government would meet their target, with Master Builders Australia estimating current rates for new home starts would result in a shortfall of 166,000 homes.