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As recently reported by Broker Daily, the Peter Dutton Coalition announced its budget in reply, placing a strong emphasis on housing and small business.
Now, industry heads are reacting to the plans.
Housing
Much the same as Labor’s budget, the Coalition took a hard stance on boosting housing affordability and supply.
Getting more skilled workers into professions to boost housing supply was praised by construction industry associations.
Property Council of Australia CEO Mike Zorbas welcomed the push to get more tradies building homes: “Hyper-scaling traineeship incentives is welcome. BuildSkills Australia estimates we need another 90,000 workers nationwide to get to our 1.2 million homes target by 2029.
“On broader housing policy, the imminent election has turned budget week into a pre-game warm-up – we can now expect key housing and planning announcements during the campaign proper.”
However, the Coalition’s plans to minimise international migration could further hurt the nation’s skills gap and reduce support for an ageing population.
HIA also came forward to praise the apprenticeship support. Managing director Jocelyn Martin called upon the other parties to match the promises made to small businesses to help reduce skills shortages.
Meanwhile, the promise to allow first home buyers to access up to $50,000 in superannuation has seen pushback from industry heads.
CPA Australia CEO Chris Freeland said: “This first home buyer measure will not resolve structural housing affordability issues. This is more likely to worsen the problem than solve it.”
Meanwhile, the Super Members Council (SMC) has come forward once again to voice criticism as a study commissioned by the organisation revealed house prices would be hiked by up to 10.3 per cent if this legislation were to be enacted.
Meanwhile, a further study from SMC revealed a 30-year-old who withdrew $35,000 from their super today could retire with about $195,000 less in today’s dollars.
“Raiding retirement savings for house deposits would just unleash a supercharged price hike in house prices, not create more new home buyers,” SMC CEO Misha Schubert said.
“That would mean home buyers in future would have to pay higher repayments on bigger mortgages for longer, worsening housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures on younger Australians… And if people retire with less super, that will also push up age pension costs – a bill that every Australian taxpayer would pay.”
SMEs
The Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) welcomed the opposition’s plans to boost the instant asset write-off to $30,000 and make it permanent.
The $20,000 tax write-off for small business meal expenses was also praised.
MFAA CEO Anja Pannek said these introductions will “give certainty” to commercial and asset finance brokers and their clients.
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the meal expense inclusion will provide some much-needed relief for the struggling hospitality sector.
“The measures announced in tonight’s Budget Reply address many of the key concerns raised by businesses and provide a roadmap for economic growth,” said the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Paul Guerra.
“Tax incentives and regulatory reforms will be key to allowing businesses to grow and thrive. Reducing the burdens that make it difficult for small businesses to succeed will help drive economic recovery and create jobs.”
However, according to CPA Australia CEO Freeland, while the instant asset write-offs are welcome, “the business community should not be stuck in the middle of a political fight.”
“The instant asset write-off should have been made permanent in the federal budget – instead the business community was left to sit and wait even longer. This shouldn’t have become a political football,” he said.
[Related: Coalition budget in reply: Dutton outlines housing affordability plans]
