Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Master Builders NT CEO Dave Malone

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Katie Woolf spoke with Master Builders NT CEO Dave Malone · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: We did find out over the course of the weekend
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: that the federal government have decided to extend their generous
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: home builder scheme. Now joining me on the line to
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: talk more about this and what it will mean for
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory is Dave Malone, head of Master Builders.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Dave.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you?
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, really well. Now, this is obviously a good thing.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: We know that this home Builder scheme, it does mean
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: that there's a bit of an extension to it, so
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I believe you can now get that work done up
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: until March next year.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: That's right. So the federal government extended home Builder on Sunday.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: They made some changes, so the scheme was meant to
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: finish in the end of Christmas, it will now finish
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: at the end of March. They did reduce the grand
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: for people who sign up after thirty one December from
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: twenty five thousand to fifteen thousand. But there's been a
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: lot of heat in the market in recent times because
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: it takes a little while for people to put our
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: housing project together. So the extension allows this to roll through.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: So it's a good move.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds like it is a good move. Dave,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: how many people in the territory. Do you know how
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: many have already sort of accessed this scheme.
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: No, I don't, but I've been talking to the house
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: builders and most of their customers at the moment are
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: people who have both home builder and build bonus in
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: their plans, so it's pretty crucial. I just look at
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: the numbers for November just now before I've got on
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: the line with you, you know, and we signed up
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: for sixty eight homes in November. Wow, that's a massive number.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: So you have to think there's a lot of territories
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: right now taking advantage of those grants.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and you'd have to say, as well, that is
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: really it's you know, it's been really beneficial for your industry.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: It sure has. One of the great things about these
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: grant schemes is just how much private capital they leverage
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: as well. It sounds like mumbo jumbo typical economists sort
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: of thing, but eventually, you know, for every dollar that
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: the governments are putting in, you know, families are putting
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: ten or eleven dollars in, and that's the combined benefit
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: that then flows through firstly to our industry, which we
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: are very grateful for but then right through the wider community,
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: so that the bang for the buck from these schemes
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: is situational.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I mean I think it's a great thing
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: obviously if people are in a situation where they're able
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: to spend that money and are able to make that investment.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Like you said, it does have that flow on effect
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: in so many other ways to our trades people, to
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: our builders, everybody in the construction industry. And also you
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: know the people that are obviously either doing that full
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: you know, a big reno which is classes and new
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: as a rebuild, or they're going down the path of
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: building a home.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: And one of the great things that we don't talk
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: enough about in my view is that when people build
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: a home in the territory, they're putting down routes. They're
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: making a decision this is where I'm going to live,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: this is where I'm going to raise my family. It
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: provides additional people for our workforce. We all benefit from
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: the fact that people choose the territory as a home.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: So the best signal that you have that people are
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: going to stay is when they invest in a new home,
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: either in Dale and Catherine Tenna Creek or Als or
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: anywhere else. So I think we should talk more about it.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: It's really about how we build our population at the
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: end of the day.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's so very true and something that we all
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: obviously want to do. Dave just on, you know, sort
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: of talking about the economy. We are expecting the Territory
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Economic Reconstruction Commission. They have now delivered their report to
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government. The Chief Minister expected to come
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: out later today to speak about that and to I
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: guess show territories exactly what's come out of that report.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: From an industry perspective, You know, what are you hoping
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: to see?
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: We'd like to see a lot of things. We could
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: be talking for a while, but the number one thing,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: by far is for a really proactive approach to driving
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: the economy forward. You know that, I don't want to
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: be critical of anyone in the killer, but sometimes it
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: can feel like the economy is something that we work
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: on when we've finished working on other things. But it's
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: the thing that gives you and I and everybody else
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: you know, a lifestyle, a job, you know, a chance
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: to live a full life. It all comes from the
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: economy in some shape or form. So We're really keen
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: to see a focus on investment and infrastructure because that's
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: the number one thing that will drive and emerging economy
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: like the territory. The Turk representatives, that's what they were
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: saying pretty much a couple of weeks ago at that
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: briefing for industry. So I feel pretty confident. I haven't
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: seen the document as yet, but the fact that the
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: chiefs prepared to release it all myst straight away says
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: he must be pretty confident too. So we're a little
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: bit excited about what comes next.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, look, I agree, you know, I hope that we're
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: in for a bit of a change, and I know
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: that when we caught up with Andrew Liveris a couple
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: of weeks ago on the show as well, he did
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: say that a big part to this it is going
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: to be, you know, once they hand this document over
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: to the government, then it is down to the government
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: to make sure that it is delivered and make sure
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: that our public servants sort of have a bit of
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: a mindset change to really speed things up and get
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: things moving.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: I agree, and you Andrew is a great leader, and
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: the way he puts his position acriss is fantastic so again,
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: that's one of the reasons we feel confident in this process.
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: But that's the public part of it. The really hard
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: grind is actually making it happen, and that challenge falls
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: to our public service. I know that the senior leaders
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: inside the public service understand this, but it will be
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: interesting to see how much change is required because I
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: think Paul Henderson was saying, we just have to be
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: the best place in Australia to invest, if not our region,
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: and that will require some change. You would have spoken
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: to plenty of investors who tell you we're not anywhere
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: near that right now. So that's the challengeation and execution.
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: Yep, Dave. I've got a text message here from one
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: of our listeners and it says, could you please ask
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Dave if he's hoping for grant funding for energy efficiency
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: upgrades to buildings to simulate the economy in the Territory
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Economic Reconstruction Report.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: I don't think that they'll get down to that detail,
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: to be honest. I think they'll be trying to set
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: up the medium to long term plan. But are you
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: one thing you can be sure of at the moment,
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of grants, yeah, available to business right now.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: The Chief Minister announced some new ones in the budget recently.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: I haven't gone through the whole list, to be honest,
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: so you've caught me on the half of the little but
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: you should be able to find a grant for anything
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: you want to do right now, to be honest.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that's all right. We'll see if we can
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: find something out. But obviously you know one of our
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: listeners is keen on finding out about that energy efficiency
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: and those upgrades. So I think it's an interesting discussion
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: to have Dave Malone. We'll see what comes out of
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: this report. The SAVO. We might be to talking again
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: very soon you too. Thank you. That is Dave Malone.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: There are the head of Master Builders here in the
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: Northern Territory.