The following article was originally published on LinkedIn by former NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler OAM.

Republished with permission.

The Albanese government has 3-years to try and set Australia’s construction industry up for better success than where it is currently headed.

Yes save the remaining frogs from boiling in what’s left.

This week, Australia will have a new BuildingMinister (aka Regulation).

Here we go again. Often the last portfolio handed out. Subject matter expertise no matter. There were 14 Ministers during the making of NCC 2022. The ABCB is a disheveled version of its former self, just when it is most needed.

The priority, delivering much needed housing while assuring public confidence.

There will be a RedBook (a Blue Book if the opposition had won) ready for a long line of ministerial advisors and industry voices to help the new Minister onboard. The narrative will most likely centre on the recent Productivity

Commission’s Report on HousingProductivity. Can we fix it? (See link below).

The report has not received much credit. It lacked essential insights.

It lacked national granularity to understand how all the moving parts work.

It lacked an appreciation of where Australian construction sits in a global market and where Australia sits geographically. It did not understand our market differences. And it did not understand the pace and unsentimentally of our competitors. One only had to sit in and observe last week’s SydneyBuildExpo. Most of the presenters who came to pitch their views, were blinkered.

There was a massive focus on the potential of Prefab. Mainly through claimed benefits to deliver housing faster and for better value for social and affordable housing. Government agencies do not seem convinced either.

There were no evidence based metrics. The Prefab narrative has pivoted in recent times to embrace its understanding of productivity, the SME supply chain and stepping away from the super manufacturer model in the Northern Hemisphere. The conversations and answers to questions were worrying.

The narrative failed to look around the expo to notice how little our industry makes these days. The weight now being lifted by China and Vietnam.

There was little consideration of the compliance with AustralianStandards challenge that lays ahead. The reality is, that almost every construction input needed by the prefab industry in Australia can now come from off-shore.

The Australian industry narrative is mostly dominated by Designers, QuantitySurveyors and Researchers who are sentimentally attached to ancient methods of organising procurement of buildings and their delivery.

There was no voice of the Tier 2 and 3 contractors. Most Tier 1 contractors are foreign owned these days. That has its plusses and minuses, but it disenfranchises the essential contractors needed to turn around productivity.

The new Building Minister has a huge job. Learn who to listen to. Seperate self from national interest, and do it fast. Its time for national leadership.

The frogs will be boiled by 2030.
https://lnkd.in/gXbg33Hx

 

 

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