By Gabriella Payne and Shelby Brooks
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has paid a visit to Berwick this morning to announce the extension to the federal government’s HomeBuilder program, which will help thousands of families nationwide.
People taking advantage of the HomeBuilder scheme will now have an extra 12 months to start work on their new builds, extended from the current six months requirement – giving first home builders 18 months in total to start construction.
Mr Frydenberg was joined by Federal La Trobe MP Jason Wood and Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing, Michael Sukkar at Stockland Minta Estate on Saturday 17 April to make the announcement.
When asked by the Gazette why he chose Berwick as the place to make the announcement, Mr Frydenberg said that the area was booming and a great example of how the HomeBuilder scheme was making a positive impact in so many ways.
“Well obviously [Berwick] is a great hive of activity and Jason has been a strong proponent and advocate for the HomeBuilder program,” he said.
“And to see how HomeBuilder is actually making a real difference to jobs on the ground, there’s no better place to do it than here in La Trobe – especially when you consider what this was.”
The extension of the program means over 120,000 homes and renovations won’t miss out on receiving the grant, as there had been many delays due to the pandemic.
“It is an opportunity to fulfil their dreams, as I said we’re building homes and fulfilling dreams,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Mr Wood said that HomeBuilder was keeping local tradies in jobs too.
“La Trobe is probably the fastest growing electorate in the country,” Mr Wood said.
“It’s incredible how much housing has been developed over the last couple of years but importantly over the awful Covid-19 pandemic.
“Locally we are able to keep tradies in jobs, particularly in the Pakenham area because of HomeBuilder, JobSeeker and Keeper.
“[HomeBuilder] has just been so vital for my local area to keep local people in work.”
