Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Scott Farlow, has called on the NSW Government to help address the impact of the Labor cost-of living crisis by deferring the introduction of increased BASIX standards for twelve months, in line with other States, saving home buyers costs and not jeopardising additional housing supply.
“As a result of the NSW Labor Government’s decision to reintroduce crippling stamp duty on first-home buyers, and to address our current housing supply shortage, we’re calling for the deferral of the implementation of increased BASIX standards for twelve months,” Mr Farlow said.
“This would bring NSW into line with other States, reduce housing costs, and not jeopardise home construction in NSW. States across the country have deferred their implementation of the National Construction Code to give industry sufficient time to implement these significant changes to how buildings are constructed.”
“The feedback from industry is clear – if these changes are implemented on 1 October they will threaten the supply of housing and add significant additional costs to purchasers at a time when they’re already being impacted by the largest interest rate rises in a decade.”
“The construction industry has seen costs escalate by more than 12% in the last year, if these changes are implemented on 1 October, purchasers will be footing additional bills that they simply can’t afford, with thousands of dollars in additional costs to build a new house.”
“This is in addition to some first home-buyers having to foot additional stamp duty costs of up to $66,000 on median priced houses as a result of Chris Minns’ repeal of the First Homebuyers Choice scheme.”
“Less than three months out from the proposed implementation, the Government’s DIY tool has not been made available to industry, which doesn’t allow them to properly cost and design the right materials to comply with the regulation.”
“The building industry has been plagued with significant material shortages and the feedback from industry is that there simply isn’t the material in the country to comply with the SEPP, which means that homes will take longer to deliver and jeopardise the 314,000 homes the Government needs to deliver over the next five years.”
“We remain committed to the Sustainable Buildings SEPP but call on the Government to defer its implementation to ensure these reforms will be achievable and not jeopardise new homes in NSW,” MrFarlow said.