Being a domestic and commercial builder in the unlimited categories for more years than I care to remember together with the changes over the past 15 years that question if one wants to continue in this now slapdash industry not to mention the current and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that are extreme and causes all previous disasters that impacted our industry to pale to insignificance.

From a day to day practical point of view on our building site much has changed. Building sites have always started early and staff/contractors usually arrive to start their days work at 7am however most these days arrive at 7am or later and may get around to starting work by 7.30 am and then start packing up at 2.45 pm (a personal annoyance). Covid-19 further compounds the start situation as we have elected to take the advice of health authorities and we are taking everyone’s temperature on arrival and ensuring all use the hand sanitiser upon every entry to the site though the only access door.

While we make every effort to maintain the social distancing of 1.5 meters it is often impossible on a building site as put quite simply a building site is not a social venue. Further complications to that rule is the fact that a number of personnel may be required to complete a task in close proximity not to mention delivery to site of materials that may be heavy and require a number of personnel to undertake the task of unloading.

Further issues arise from the general culture that has developed over the last 10 to 15 years being one of ‘she will be right’ and that culture is clearly demonstrated in the quality of buildings we deliver though the various and many damming reports on the building industry in more recent years but it also extends to the attitude of building personnel whereby many take that same attitude towards the Coronavirus crisis and it is that element that undoes the measured approach by so many that are responsible.

However, I must admit that all on our site appear to welcome the health measures we have taken as a precaution that may see the virus held at bay with no-one infected. Being a principal builder particularly over the last ten years or so in our heated building environment has been extremely frustrating mainly due to that culture of she’ll be right that extends to contractors and others when it comes to hours worked and payment of those hours at an hourly rate that has escalated over this period while the hours  delivered have diminished creating an 8 hour day on invoice that is paid for but in reality only delivering some 5 or 6 hours of productivity.

Such practices must cease as no industry can afford such a luxury let alone the building industry that suffers from a mentality that every principle builder makes a fortune whereby the fact is in this competitive environment coupled with the demands of developers most builders find margins have diminished and trades are often in fact making more than the builder.

The reality is the principle builder in most cases arrives to site to open it for the days operation and remains to close it resulting in a 10 to 12 hour day and this fact combined with the trades that take on too much and then want to work at weekends which results in them running the builders site as ongoing trades have to be re-scheduled to suit their selfish programme with no regard to the principle builder and his lawful contracts.

The general now accepted (for the moment) conduct of the industry has questioned the viability of the principle builder and many have and are considering departing the industry for these very reasons. Such luxuries have to cease as Victoria, Australia, the World is in for a rude awakening as some are suggesting the recession, we will experience will surpass the great depression of the 1930s.

That recession was the worst downturn in the history of the industrialized world and if we were to suffer in a similar manner, we are in for an awakening of a magnitude never seen in recent decades.

Prior to and the lead up to the great depression in America was the Roaring Twenties that saw reckless spending particularly on Wall Street and the mild recession in the American summer of 1929 that saw consumer spending slowing and unsold goods piling up which in turn slowed factory production.

However, stock prices continued to rise and by autumn of that year had reached stratospheric levels that could not be justified by expected future earnings, and this fact led into the great depression.Where to now:

Enough of the past American scenario let’s look at Australia, and can we draw a parallel with our housing/property market that has preformed far beyond any expectation and simply cannot be justified by future earnings in our now slowing economy.

Housing generally is completely out of kilter with our economy, our wages, and the impending recession will demonstrate this fact.

We have not experienced a recession over the past thirty odd years due to government intervention of buying us out of recession whereas in the previous twenty years there were a number of recessions including Paul Keating’s recession that “Australia had to have’.

At that time, we saw interest rates soar with the Reserve rate at 18% with bank margins added taking in the case of the Bank of Melbourne rate to 22.5% coupled with a 3- month penalty payout. (Do banks have a heart?)

This time the Reserve rate is under 2% which is a complete reversal, but I believe we will see the same result and while it is early days the signs are there with many out of work, businesses failing, oil worth nothing, and a general fear of the future.

What has the false security of the past 30 odd years delivered to our society and has it been beneficial to the wider community and while some may say it has there is a larger section that may question that fact as we have developed a culture of greed and one of she’ll be right at the expense of many and focusing on the building industry we find that we have spawned an army of builders and contractors that lack skillsets for their category of license.

Accordingly, we can’t deliver buildings without serious defects, and to make matters worse we deflect all responsibility and accountability of our contractual obligations leaving our consumers in limbo, financially exhausted, and mentally distraught in some cases for years.

Our regulatory regime has let us down as they have been unable to police compliance and in many cases those with a licence shun their obligations at the expense of those who are compliant.

It now appears a health pandemic in the form of COVID-19 may be the vehicle that will wake up our industry and the nation in a manner never dreamed of as we descend into the depths of recession.

There is no question every aspect of life will be very different as we emerge from the effects of Covid-19 not to mention the recession that one may hope will challenge the selfish culture we have developed over the past years and we become a more caring society that produces better business ethics and respect for one another.

We can only hope!