FOLLOWING the ACT government’s announcement about slowly re-opening the construction industry in a staged approach, Master Builders ACT has accused the government of “picking favourites”.

In the latest covid media conference today (August 27), ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the commencement, planned for September 3, will begin with civil construction such as new roads and infrastructure, as well as the manufacturing, fabrication, testing and equipment supply.

While Master Builders ACT welcomed the announcement, it’s concerned about the economic and social consequences of leaving small-scale businesses out of today’s construction industry reopening plan.

“From day one of this lockdown, the MBA has advocated for a safe reopening of the entire construction industry,” said Master Builders ACT CEO Michael Hopkins.

“Trying to pick favourites in the reopening plan for an entire industry will leave a stain on the ACT’s COVID-19 response which small scale operators and tradies won’t forget.

“The safety protocols developed for the construction industry will provide the same level of safety performance whether implemented on a large or small-scale building site, however, by leaving the small-scale residential sector out of the re-opening plan the financial impact on the industry and economy will be exacerbated.”

Mr Hopkins said more than $600m of damage will be inflicted on the ACT’s economy because of a three week shutdown of the construction sector.

“Every week that there is a delay to reopening small-scale residential projects, a further $105 million of damage will be done. The impacts of this will likely spell the end for many small scale residential builders,” he said.

“Unfortunately the continued shutdown of the small-scale residential sector will have detrimental impacts on members of the public who are currently building homes, especially first home buyers who were encouraged to buy land in the ACT because of stamp duty reductions. The Federal Government’s $25,000 HomeBuilder grant is now at risk for these buyers because completion timeframes are unlikely to be met.”

Mr Hopkins is not the only one to voice concerns, with Canberrans taken to social media to describe what the restrictions mean for their businesses.

One Facebook user, Taylor Ben O’Brien commented on the Canberra CityNews page, saying: “We run a small family run business that sells carpet and flooring. I know we can’t open but could we please be able to lay our customers flooring if the house is not occupied or the customer is not at home.”

Other users questioned why large sites could open but builders working on small house extensions, which would involve one or two, can’t.