© Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty ImagesA building site in Sydney. Scott Morrison has signalled the next round of federal stimulus for the coronavirus-hit economy will involve construction and be targeted rather than economy-wide interventions.
The government has also hinted it is looking at helping the struggling arts and entertainment sector, which has been pleading for assistance for months because many workers have missed out on the $1,500 fortnightly jobkeeper wage subsidy.
It is understood the support for home renovations is on the table - but the bigger focus of the forthcoming package is likely to be new construction and larger-scale work.
The latest moves follow revelations the six-month jobkeeper program may cost $60bn less than originally forecast, and comments by the Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, that the scheme may need to be extended beyond its September expiry because the economy may be at "a critical point".
Comment: Yet another sign that the full impact of the lockdown is yet to come.
Scott Morrison signalled that the next stimulus measures would be announced soon and would take the form of targeted support rather than economy-wide interventions.
"Now, as time goes on, there are sectors who will endure more of the pain for longer, and what we've seen, there'll be gaps that occur in our economy and house building," the prime minister said on Monday. "Residential construction will be one of those gaps that we have to address."
The government is considering a housing stimulus package that would extend grants to include home renovations as a way to help tradespeople weather the slowdown, according to a report in the Australian.
Some limits or conditions may be placed around the types of renovations that could be covered by the scheme, the newspaper reported, but the government was tight-lipped about the details.
Numerous groups have called for government support in the wake of the pandemic to include moves to fix inefficient homes and buildings, including expanding the rollout of solar panels and home batteries.
The Australian Council of Social Service has urged governments across the nation to spend $7bn on building social housing for 30,000 families and individuals, with the twin goal of boosting the post-crisis economic recovery and reducing homelessness.
Labor's housing spokesman, Jason Clare, said the government should move quickly and should ensure the program was "comprehensive", including social housing construction and repairs.
"I've got two words for the prime minister: hurry up," Clare said. "We are talking about an industry that employs about 1 million Australians."
Clare said many people "could hit the wall if this government doesn't take action to help save this industry now."
Morrison said the government was looking at ways to help the residential building sector, because of predictions construction activity would drop off in the last few months of 2020.
"The tradies, the apprentices and others who work in that home building sector ... are going to feel a lot of pain unless we can keep a continuity in the business of house construction," he said.
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, who has been talking with the states about the housing package, declined to specify what conditions might be placed on renovation projects. But he said the government was focused on jobs and "meeting that gap in demand in the back half of this year".
Frydenberg kept the door open to including social housing construction in the plan, saying the government would "have more to say in due course".
Earlier on Monday, Morrison confirmed the government had also been "looking closely" at support for the entertainment industry. The prime minister told 2GB he had held "some good discussions with people in the entertainment industry on the weekend about what we can be doing there more specifically".
Morrison said one of the challenges for the sector was to get capital moving again because operators had had to draw down on it so significantly during the crisis, and cited the film industry as a priority.
The government has been resisting calls to expand eligibility for the jobkeeper wage subsidy since the forecasting bungle was revealed, although it has left the door open to further support to worst-affected sectors - such as tourism - following a scheduled review in June.
On Monday, Morrison announced the government would fast-track funding for the Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport Rail Link so that construction could start this year, "locking in thousands of jobs".
He was joined at a media conference by the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, who said the "mega-project" would provide vital opportunities as the economy recovered from the impact of Covid-19.
The $3.5bn in funding announced on Monday will be covered jointly by the federal and state governments.
That is a prototypical result of a 'centralized planned economy.'
Australia, you're not immune just because you call yourself free.
RC