In short:
Western Australia's state government will pay up to $4 million to Austral Bricks to reopen its plant in the state.
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government → pay → state
The Sydney-based company shut down its WA factory mid-2023, and the only other manufacturer, Midland Brick, has struggled to keep up with demand.
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manufacturer → base → demand
WA Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti said the funding was an example of the government jumping in to address the needs of critical industries.
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government → say → industries
Western Australian taxpayers will fork out up to $4 million to restart a second brick making facility in the state as the construction industry continues to grapple with labour and raw material shortages.
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industry → fork → shortages
The state was left with just one brickmaker when Austral closed its Cardup brickworks in mid-2023.
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Austral → leave → mid-2023
Since then, the government says the number of detached homes starting construction has grown by more than 50 per cent, leaving the remaining manufacturer — Midland Brick — struggling to keep up with demand.
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number → say → demand
In an effort to address the shortfall, the state government will now give $3 million to Austral to re-open its facility, which is expected to increase production by up to 15 per cent.
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which → address → cent
"This is making sure we do everything possible to continue the momentum of building more homes and also reducing the challenges of increased costs [of] bricks," Treasurer Rita Saffioti said.
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Saffioti → make → bricks
Asked why state money was required to kickstart the project given the high demand, Ms Saffioti said the government was supporting industries in critical sectors "to get on with it".
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industries → ask → it
We can't have a situation where we know we need to build more houses but simply we don't have the bricks,"she
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we → have → bricks,"she
Labour supply also critical
Industry executives who attended the funding announcement, made at a construction site in the Perth suburb of Sinagra, were unanimous in their support.
"Still not enough, so we've still got an issue, but it's certainly a large help," ABN Group managing director Dale Alcock said.
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Alcock → attend → issue
The industry veteran said the company, one of the state's largest homebuilders, had around 100 sites waiting on bricks.
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sites → say → bricks
He urged the government to look into other ways to increase supply.
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He → urge → supply
Mr Alcock said an "allocation system" used by Midland Brick showed there was "not enough [bricks] currently to go around".
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system → say → Brick
“At the moment, the industry is more concerned about availability than cost,” Mr Alcock said.
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Alcock → say → cost
"Cost is critical, but without bricks we get no production."
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we → get → production
Master Builders WA CEO, Matt Moran, said having a large enough workforce was also critical to the industry's future.
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having → say → future
"We need to double down and invest in trades.
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We → need → trades
We need to promote trades more, attract people to apprenticeships," he said.
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he → need → apprenticeships
No quick fix
The government is offering Austral an extra $500,000 if it can resume operations by March.
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it → offer → March
The company will also get another $500,000 incentive if it produces at least 17 million bricks in its first year.
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it → get → year
However, Housing Industry Association WA CEO, Michael McGowan, warned home owners that this would not provide a quick fix to the delays plaguing the industry, and urged people to be patient over the next 12 months
"
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this → warn → months
There is going to be a little bit more time before these bricks become available, and the brick layers and the builders are working really hard to deliver the homes that are currently in the pipeline," he said.
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he → be → pipeline
Ms Saffioti said the government was still negotiating terms with Austral, including whether the company would be required to keep their facility open for a minimum period.
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company → say → period
Mr McGowan said he doubted the company would be lacking in business over the next few years.
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company → say → years
"The home building industry is going to be incredibly busy for the next three to four years, and certainly we would encourage this to be a long-term play," he said.
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he → go → years
The Aporia
