Liberals’ housing failure costs Tasmania $642 million as deep cuts hit Building Tasmania

The Tasmanian Liberal Government’s failure to build enough homes has cost the state budget $642 million in just two years, and now it is making deep cuts to the department responsible for building them.

New analysis from the Housing Industry Association shows Tasmania started just 4,917 new homes in the two years to June, more than 5,000 short of its National Housing Accord target and less than half the required build rate.

Those missing homes would have housed more than 12,000 Tasmanians.

Instead, the housing waitlist has climbed to a record high, as the number of Tasmanians waiting for a home approaches 6,000.

With numbers like those, you’d like that the Government would be focused on building more homes.

But after 13 years of Liberal waste, Premier Rockliff has put Eric Abetz in charge of making deep cuts to Building Tasmania - the department tasked with delivering more homes.

With the housing waitlist the longest it’s ever been, Eric Abetz’ cuts will only take away from the Government’s ability to help vulnerable Tasmanians who need it most.