30 April 2009
The specific requirements of the new six star green residential rating scheme are a mystery, according to the Urban Taskforce.
Its surprising that the Council of Australian Governments has declared every new home will have a six star green rating without any clear idea what this would mean for the average home-buyer, Mr Gadiel said.
No-one in government has been able to tell us what the requirements of the new six star green rating system will be.
No-one can tell us any specific costs or benefits that the new standard will bring.
The only thing that is clear is that the cost of building new homes will go up when construction activity is descending to record lows.
In the four months to February 2009 building approvals were given for 35,000 new homes across Australia thats 33 per cent less homes than for the same period last year.
Home approvals havent hit such a low level since 1983, Mr Gadiel said.
Mr Gadiel said it was pointless committing to a new standard if the actual requirements of the standard were undecided.
The standard is due to be introduced for all new homes from next year.
Theres clear agreement as to the number of stars the new rating system will have theres not much agreement on anything else, Mr Gadiel said.
Home buyers, home builders and developers have no clear information on the materials and standards that will be required in new homes.
Governments should not rush forward and commit to new standards before theyve fully worked out the costs and benefits of a new scheme.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers. For every $1 million in construction expenditure, 27 jobs are created throughout the broader economy. The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $69 billion to the national economy each year and creates 709,000 direct jobs. The construction industry is Australias third largest source of employment.
