Michael Sukkar MP

Interview with Tom Connell – Sky News

THE HON MICHAEL SUKKAR MP – SHADOW MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, NDIS, HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH TOM CONNELL, SKY NEWS

Friday, 18 August 2023

TOPICS: National Cabinet, Housing

E&OE

Tom Connell: Joining me live is Shadow Housing Minister Michael Sukkar here in Melbourne. Thanks for your time.

Michael Sukkar: Thanks, Tom.

Tom Connell: For years we’ve sort of been hearing governments need to work together at different levels. That’s the big issue with housing. So this is a positive step that Labor’s saying multi-level sorted out, we’re going to increase the supply this way.

Michael Sukkar: Well, we saw nothing out of this meeting and this this meeting was built up as being a seminal moment for housing in this country. And it was a complete fizzer. You know, never has a meeting promised so much and delivered so little. We were expecting and I know the sector was expecting an outline of specific projects, specific initiatives where the homes would be, who would build them, who will fund them, how they’ll be approved. We saw none of that. It was almost like it was just a placeholder and right now in Australia we’ve got housing starts going backwards. We’ve got new homes – purchasers going backwards. We’ve got first home buyers at their lowest levels since the Gillard government. On every single metric, housing is getting worse in Australia and there’s nothing quite frankly out of that meeting, Tom that would give anyone who was struggling to pay their rent, struggling to pay their mortgage or struggling to save for a home, any cause for optimism.

Tom Connell: The housing sector that you mentioned was broadly welcomed. You’re right, we need the detail on it.

Michael Sukkar: Well, they’ve welcomed the principles, so no one is going to disagree with the principle that we need to streamline planning and zoning throughout the states. But that’s been promised 100 times before.

Tom Connell: What we do have different is an incentive scheme. So go out there, build the houses is what the states are told. So you get to a million and each state has their pro-rata contribution to a million. And beyond that, each home you built $15,000 from the federal government. That’s a real incentive, isn’t it? So that that can tip the scales.

Michael Sukkar: I don’t think it will be. We had in October an aspiration for a million homes from this government. It was deliberately an aspiration, not a promise, an aspiration. Within a few months, it became very clear from a number of forecasts – the HIA included, that they weren’t going to meet that million, so they plucked a million out of nowhere and they won’t made it. Now they’ve just plucked 1.2 million out of nowhere and equally they will not meet it – we need to say, what the specific programs are, aspirations and media releases and headline turns of, we’re going to work more closely together is fine, but we’ve had months in the lead up to this meeting. We are now nearly 18 months into the life of this government. We’ve got a housing crisis right now largely of Labor’s making and there’s no urgency. People are expecting out of this meeting concrete plans as I say. Where are the homes being built? What are the projects? We’ve got none of that. So I think the reality is we’ve heard it all before from this government and, well, they missed that.

Tom Connell: How could they have missed it already if it’s a five year target?

Michael Sukkar: Because on every single measure, so detached housing, for example, HIA, which is not a partisan body, the HIA have forecast that next year detached homes will be down to 94,000. In 2021 they were nearly at 150,000. So they’re behind on those. They’re already behind.

Tom Connell: So the minute you get behind you can never catch up?

Michael Sukkar: It’s extraordinarily difficult to catch up, I can tell you – if you’re behind after six months, Tom, I can tell you you’re not going to make up that that that shortfall.

Tom Connell: I’m in Melbourne, so I’ll point out. Carlton – They were behind and suddenly they’re back in the eight.

Michael Sukkar: Well, there is always exceptions to these rules in a footy text.

Tom Connell: So we spoke to the NSW Minister earlier this week and she said we’re confident we can do this, we’ll build our share, which I think was 300,000 of a million, and then we want to go and be above and beyond that. And they’re going to do that by putting the hardwood on the councils. Some councils are working well with them, others that are not. They said, We’re going to overrule them no more NIMBYism. Is that the attitude, do you agree with that attitude?

Michael Sukkar: I’m not surprised that the NSW Labor Minister has sung from the same hymn sheet as Anthony Albanese. The truth is we all I think as Australians believe it when we see it.

Tom Connell: But is that the right attitude to what we need to do? Are Councils a problem in Australia?

Michael Sukkar: I think state governments are the biggest problem. I think state governments are the biggest problem and it’s very easy for them to push responsibility. So the cheapest form of housing right now when we talk about affordable housing – undoubtedly the cheapest form of housing right now is detached greenfield housing

Tom Connell: But that’s also the farthest away.

Michael Sukkar: And the states are refusing to release the land. With construction costs I can tell you right now, you know it’s very hard to make these high density projects stack up. I’ve been speaking with lots of people in the sector. You know, I speak to them every week and it’s very hard to make those projects continue. Australians, a proportion of Australians will want to live in a home with a backyard and I don’t think and I don’t think we should give up…

Tom Connell: Not give up on it, but a proportion will also want to go – I want to be close to where I work and where my family lives.

Michael Sukkar: Sure, and right now those projects are not going ahead.

Tom Connell: But where that mix comes into it, that’s what I’m saying. Don’t zoning laws matter as well? And do you think councils have been an issue around…?

Michael Sukkar: We’re in complete agreement on that. What my point is, what we needed out of the National Cabinet meeting was not a diagnosis of the problem because we all know the problem. It was concrete solutions to the problem. We didn’t see any of that.

Tom Connell: The incentives are out there. Perhaps the concrete will come next. I there’s a gag there about foundations, but I’m not quite at my sharpest today. Quickly on the rental rules ending no cause evictions that a good thing?

Michael Sukkar: Look I think what the what was announced on rentals are very much around the edges and you know one other change there in respect…

Tom Connell: One rental increase per year?

Michael Sukkar: Which is the standard for the vast majority…

Tom Connell: But limiting that. Fair enough?

Michael Sukkar: I think they fine changes. We don’t object to them. But the truth is that we need a focus on how we incentivise these people to invest in more rental stock and the answer is not going to be what the Labor Party and the Greens. I think are moving towards, which is making it harder for people to own investment properties because if they…

Tom Connell: How are Labor moving towards that?

Michael Sukkar: Well we’ve seen the Labor Party at a state level, particularly here in my home state of Victoria, flying kites on these issues, playing footsies. Well you know, you know, Anthony Albanese and Daniel Andrews are fractionally aligned so they’re very close. So when Daniel Andrews says something in Victoria, that contagion of what it could do nationally, we watch very closely because we know they’re very close. And the reality is in Australia’s housing market, making it more restrictive to provide rental properties in the end makes it harder for people renting.

Tom Connell: Talk about timelines Today, I’m over mine with you. So Michael, thanks for your time.

Michael Sukkar: Thanks so much.

Ends