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

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Katie Woolf spoke with Master Builders NT Chief Executive Dave Malone · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine dot com for all
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  Speaker 1: the latest news and information. Now three sixty with Katie Wolf.
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  Speaker 1: Everyone is listening. Mix one oh four point nine one
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  Speaker 1: hundred percent NT.
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  Speaker 2: Joining us on the line right now from the master
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  Speaker 2: Builders here in the Northern Territory CEO Dave Malone.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, Dave, Good morning, Katie. How are you good?
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  Speaker 2: Mate?
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  Speaker 1: Now?
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  Speaker 2: Talk us through how things are going in the construction
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  Speaker 2: sector at the moment when it comes to new builds
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  Speaker 2: and certificates for extensions and work underway on houses.
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  Speaker 3: Well, things are going well, as you know, with build
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  Speaker 3: Bonus and home Builder both supporting new home buyers to
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  Speaker 3: get into the market. We've seen a real surge and
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  Speaker 3: activity over the last few months, and people thought that
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  Speaker 3: might drop off, but the latest figures for February say
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  Speaker 3: it's kicking along just as hard as it has for
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  Speaker 3: the last six months or so, and that's really good
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  Speaker 3: news for all those builders and subbies out there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so how many you know, like when you talk
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  Speaker 2: about the number of new projects underway or the number
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  Speaker 2: of homes underway and extensions, talk us through those numbers.
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  Speaker 3: Right well, right up front Territory and signed fifty two
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  Speaker 3: new contracts for homes in February. That's about twenty six
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  Speaker 3: million dollars worth of new residential building. So that small
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  Speaker 3: contribution from taxpayers through build Bonus and home builder turns
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  Speaker 3: into twenty six million dollars worth of investment in one month,
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  Speaker 3: and that literally is work for thousands of people across
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  Speaker 3: the territory.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it certainly seems like a great stimulus measure. How
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  Speaker 2: much longer do those two schemes go for days?
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  Speaker 3: That's the tricky question, isn't it, Katie. Both governments, the
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  Speaker 3: federal government and the territory government both said these schemes
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  Speaker 3: run out on the thirty first of March, so people
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  Speaker 3: literally have four weeks to go until those grants disappear.
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  Speaker 3: So if you're thinking of building a new home, then
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  Speaker 3: it's really time to put your skates on. Would obviously
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  Speaker 3: be pushing for something to continue because we're not out
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  Speaker 3: of the COVID economic crisis as yet, but we've heard
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  Speaker 3: nothing from other government at this stage.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so I guess now is the time for
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  Speaker 2: any territory and thinking about building a new home, you know,
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  Speaker 2: to really sort of go and find out some more
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  Speaker 2: detail and get in contact. I'm assuming with your bank
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  Speaker 2: as well, because that's probably the more time consuming part
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  Speaker 2: of it. But in relation to I mean, does it
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  Speaker 2: it only really goes for those that are building new homes,
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  Speaker 2: doesn't it. It's not. There's sort of nothing there underway
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  Speaker 2: for a big reno or an extension at this point.
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  Speaker 3: So the Commonwealth has a scheme to support large renovations
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  Speaker 3: and we've seen quite a few of those. You know,
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  Speaker 3: we only sign up the big ones, Yeah, but there
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  Speaker 3: were sixteen big ones last month as well, so you
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  Speaker 3: know that people are taking advantage of that. And if
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  Speaker 3: you run a home today and you can go and
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  Speaker 3: borrow some money at less than two percent, all those
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  Speaker 3: things we've been putting off, you know, the extra room
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  Speaker 3: or whatever it might be, it's time to do it now.
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  Speaker 3: Because in my lifetime I've been around for a very
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  Speaker 3: long time now, I've never seen an opportunity like this
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  Speaker 3: to get some work done.
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  Speaker 2: Do you reckon you're going to have a bit of
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  Speaker 2: a rush between now and the thirty first of March.
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  Speaker 3: That's a really good question. I was talking to one
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  Speaker 3: of the banks earlier in the week and I was saying,
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  Speaker 3: you know, what's in your books or what's on your
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  Speaker 3: books because they're usually a little bit ahead of everything
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  Speaker 3: else and they were already facing that rush. So the
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  Speaker 3: short answer is, yes, people are keen. I mean, when
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  Speaker 3: government's tanning out free cash and you don't have to
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  Speaker 3: raise quite the same deposit, it's a great incentive. And
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  Speaker 3: you know, I think there's another thing going on as well.
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  Speaker 3: I think a lot of people have decided the territory
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  Speaker 3: is now their home. They've looked around, they've seen what
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  Speaker 3: happened through COVID, and it's not such a bad place here,
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  Speaker 3: and with the incentives, they've decided to put down some
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  Speaker 3: routes and raise their families.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what we're all hoping. We definitely want to
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  Speaker 2: see as many people here as possible and boost that population. Dave,
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  Speaker 2: is there a concern when these different sort of schemes
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  Speaker 2: end that we could see a bit of a fall
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  Speaker 2: off when it comes to work.
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  Speaker 3: Our real concern around that, To be honest, you wouldn't
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  Speaker 3: see it straight away because work is now underway and
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  Speaker 3: it takes five or six months to build a home.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, these schemes coming to an abrupt end
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  Speaker 3: at the end of this month may well turn into
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  Speaker 3: a major problem through August and September. As this work
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  Speaker 3: flashes through, we don't want to see it that way.
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  Speaker 3: We'd really like to see a transitional arrangement in place
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  Speaker 3: for quite some time. But that's a conversation we've got
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  Speaker 3: to have with both the territory and federal governments.
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  Speaker 2: And I guess the other thing is we're all sort
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  Speaker 2: of hoping that, you know, we saw the Territory Economic
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  Speaker 2: Reconstruction Commission hand down their report towards the end of
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  Speaker 2: last year. We are all sort of waiting to hear
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  Speaker 2: back from the government depart ms and about the ways
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  Speaker 2: that they're going to implement some of those recommendations that
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  Speaker 2: were made. But I guess the big thing as well
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  Speaker 2: at the moment, in terms of that recovery from COVID,
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  Speaker 2: it is about seeing some of those bigger projects get
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  Speaker 2: on underway, and again that would engage the construction sector,
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  Speaker 2: wouldn't it.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely Our industry is only there because the economy is growing.
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  Speaker 3: You know that if there's not more people and there's
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  Speaker 3: not more demand, then you don't need roads, bridges, houses,
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  Speaker 3: you know, shopping centers and everything that goes with that.
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  Speaker 3: So you know, we need the economy growing that's pretty
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  Speaker 3: much what the Turk Report said as well. Like you, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: I haven't heard a lot since the report was released
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  Speaker 3: last year. I know people are being busy, but I
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  Speaker 3: think we're very much getting to the point now, aren't
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  Speaker 3: we where we need to hear what's going on and
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  Speaker 3: where things are up to. I know people are busy,
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  Speaker 3: but I think the wider population needs to know what's
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  Speaker 3: going on too.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, I mean we're now we've hit March, so I
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  Speaker 2: think that we you know, realistically, I would be hoping
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  Speaker 2: that we'd be here hearing fairly soon about you know,
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  Speaker 2: some of the different things that they're going to get
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  Speaker 2: underway to try and ensure that we are sort of
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  Speaker 2: open for business.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, and time seems to be marching on, doesn't it.
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  Speaker 3: I can't believe that we're in March already, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: in the territory what he knocks off for December, so
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  Speaker 3: there's not a lot of time left in the year.
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  Speaker 3: I really hope that we're going to start to see
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  Speaker 3: the new way of doing things come through as soon
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  Speaker 3: as possible, and you know, for investors to get that
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  Speaker 3: real confidence that the territory is open for business. I
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  Speaker 3: see that the opposition now has put out their own
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  Speaker 3: little piece of legislation for a territory coordinator for example,
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  Speaker 3: So there'll be a battle of ideas, Yeah, in twenty
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  Speaker 3: twenty one, that's for sure.
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  Speaker 2: I reckon. Well, we might even put in a call,
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  Speaker 2: you know, to well, to one of the departments. I
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  Speaker 2: think it falls under the Department of Business, So we
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  Speaker 2: might put in a call and see if we can
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  Speaker 2: maybe catch up with them and find out where things
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  Speaker 2: are at with that to report, Dave.
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  Speaker 3: I think it's a good idea, Katie. I'm sure that
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  Speaker 3: people at Paul Henderson has put so much time into
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  Speaker 3: it as well. You know, he's on the inside of
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  Speaker 3: course and probably knows, but he put his reputation behind
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  Speaker 3: it as well, so I'm sure he's putting the pressure on.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I reckon they would be well, Dave Maline, it's
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  Speaker 2: always good to catch up with you. Anything else we
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  Speaker 2: should be aware of at the moment when it comes
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  Speaker 2: to your sector in construction, well, Coatie.
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  Speaker 3: The other thing that's coming through probably we've spoken about
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  Speaker 3: it so many times. People might go blah blah blah. Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: but defense is looking really strong.
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  Speaker 2: That's good.
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  Speaker 3: There's tremendous opportunities out there. It just requires the firms
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  Speaker 3: to change how they do business a little bit because
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  Speaker 3: defense is a particular type of client. But over all
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  Speaker 3: those years when you and I talked about this stuff
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  Speaker 3: is coming and it just it was so close that
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  Speaker 3: we couldn't touch it. Well we can touch it now.
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  Speaker 3: There's things happening in Darwin, Catherine, the top end in general.
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  Speaker 3: So yeah, it's looking much better.
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  Speaker 2: Good to hear Dave Malone see oh of master builders
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  Speaker 2: here in the Northern Territory. Always good to catch up.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you for your time, have a good one, Casey too,
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.