Huge job boost for NT tradies

Registered contractors are set to benefit from the Northern Territory Government’s rollout of its $100 million Public Housing Stimulus Program over the next 18 months, supporting up to 550 full-time jobs.

Announced in November 2018, the stimulus program will see major and minor upgrades to urban public housing properties, with works including construction, plumbing, electrical, painting, roofing, fencing and security installations. This will be a huge boost for jobs and small businesses, as well as a valuable investment in public housing stock.

The first projects have been awarded, with one job already completed. $60 million of work has already been identified, and it is expected around $35 million of work will go to tender over the next six months.

“Creating jobs is the Territory Labor Government’s number one priority and we will continue to invest in programs that stimulate our economy,” stated Chief Minister Michael Gunner. “This stimulus is part of our plan to boost spending within the construction industry in order to support small businesses.”

Last year, a previous stimulus worth $69 million generated work for more than 220 Territory contractors at around 3000 public housing properties and resulted in more than 250 vacant properties returned to public housing stock.

The new stimulus is expected to yield more positive results, according to Master Builders NT Chief Executive Dave Malone. “Investing $100 million in upgrades will underpin as many as 550 full-time jobs but this program will support more than a thousand tradies in some way over the life of the program.”

Trevor Miller from MWK Constructions, a small business with only three employees, said the construction industry has welcomed the support from the government following difficult working conditions.

“This stimulus is a win-win for everyone. There’s not a huge amount of work around at the moment so this will be a big help for small businesses like mine who will be able to keep employees in work,” Miller said. “We always use local subcontractors such as plumbers, electricians and cable technicians, and we buy from local suppliers so the flow-on effect means everyone benefits.”

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