Latest news with #BigHousingBuild
Sydney Morning Herald
11-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out
On the road network, the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell still has no firm completion date despite being slated for 2021. The government's Big Build website says planning for the final section is still under way. Another project renewing sections of the Great Ocean Road, forecast to be completed this year, is expected to be four to six months behind schedule after already being pushed back from as far back as 2020. The Big Housing Build, a 2020 state government commitment to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years, is now forecast to be completed in 2028. The government says the $6.3 billion project will now deliver 13,300 social and affordable homes, with work on 10,100 complete or under way. A government spokesperson said the auditor-general's report was a 'snapshot in time' and information was provided 12 months ago. Other delays outlined in the report are no longer accurate and have not been included in this article. Loading 'Since then, works have progressed, with Victorians reaping the benefits from these vital major projects across the state,' the spokesperson said. Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland said the government's management of projects had become a 'slow-motion disaster'. 'Victorians pay the price with added costs and delayed projects because we have a government that rewards union thuggery instead of demanding accountability,' Mulholland said. Improvements to Victoria's male prison system capacity, first forecast for 2023, are also delayed and unlikely to stay within budget because of black mould infestations affecting hundreds of new beds at Barwon Prison in Lara and the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. The Department of Justice and Community safety is currently negotiating with the contractors of the prison project and argues the works were not completed to standard. Infrastructure Australia's market capacity report, published in December 2024, said investment in transport projects was falling as billions of dollars more in funding flowed to energy and housing projects. Chief executive Adam Copp said at the time that the nation's infrastructure ambitions were being challenged by skills shortages, stagnant productivity growth and the rising costs of materials. 'Construction materials on average cost around 30 per cent more than they did three years ago, and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don't have the people power we need to get the job done on time – our analysis shows 7 per cent of the pipeline, or $15 billion of planned construction work, has been hampered by project delays,' Copp said in the report. Loading Copp said projects would also shift into regional areas and northern Australia, which would bring other challenges in attracting workers and supplying materials. Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh has previously warned of the impact of delays, particularly those linked to union action. The peak body's members reported that repeated construction delays and poorer working environments added 30 per cent to the total costs of projects. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Veiszadeh said. 'Worksites have been shut down for spurious reasons, sometimes costing up to $5 million a day. Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars.' This masthead's Building Bad investigation has detailed allegations of serious misconduct across government sites over the past year, including allegations gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU.
The Age
11-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Timelines for swath of Victorian construction projects blow out
On the road network, the duplication of the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell still has no firm completion date despite being slated for 2021. The government's Big Build website says planning for the final section is still under way. Another project renewing sections of the Great Ocean Road, forecast to be completed this year, is expected to be four to six months behind schedule after already being pushed back from as far back as 2020. The Big Housing Build, a 2020 state government commitment to build 12,000 social and affordable homes over four years, is now forecast to be completed in 2028. The government says the $6.3 billion project will now deliver 13,300 social and affordable homes, with work on 10,100 complete or under way. A government spokesperson said the auditor-general's report was a 'snapshot in time' and information was provided 12 months ago. Other delays outlined in the report are no longer accurate and have not been included in this article. Loading 'Since then, works have progressed, with Victorians reaping the benefits from these vital major projects across the state,' the spokesperson said. Opposition major projects spokesman Evan Mulholland said the government's management of projects had become a 'slow-motion disaster'. 'Victorians pay the price with added costs and delayed projects because we have a government that rewards union thuggery instead of demanding accountability,' Mulholland said. Improvements to Victoria's male prison system capacity, first forecast for 2023, are also delayed and unlikely to stay within budget because of black mould infestations affecting hundreds of new beds at Barwon Prison in Lara and the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall. The Department of Justice and Community safety is currently negotiating with the contractors of the prison project and argues the works were not completed to standard. Infrastructure Australia's market capacity report, published in December 2024, said investment in transport projects was falling as billions of dollars more in funding flowed to energy and housing projects. Chief executive Adam Copp said at the time that the nation's infrastructure ambitions were being challenged by skills shortages, stagnant productivity growth and the rising costs of materials. 'Construction materials on average cost around 30 per cent more than they did three years ago, and with ongoing skills shortages we simply don't have the people power we need to get the job done on time – our analysis shows 7 per cent of the pipeline, or $15 billion of planned construction work, has been hampered by project delays,' Copp said in the report. Loading Copp said projects would also shift into regional areas and northern Australia, which would bring other challenges in attracting workers and supplying materials. Roads Australia chief executive Ehssan Veiszadeh has previously warned of the impact of delays, particularly those linked to union action. The peak body's members reported that repeated construction delays and poorer working environments added 30 per cent to the total costs of projects. 'On major public infrastructure worksites, workplace safety has not only been undermined – it has been weaponised,' Veiszadeh said. 'Worksites have been shut down for spurious reasons, sometimes costing up to $5 million a day. Often industrial action has targeted critical works such as concrete pours, which can have a cost impact of tens of millions of dollars.' This masthead's Building Bad investigation has detailed allegations of serious misconduct across government sites over the past year, including allegations gangland-linked figures were receiving large payments from companies on publicly funded projects looking to gain favour with figures within the CFMEU.
ABC News
07-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Homeless camp at site of long-delayed social housing project in Bendigo
Richard De Leon is neatly dressed as he exits the tent he calls home. He has set up camp on "Virginia Hill" — a fenced-off site once home to a notorious public housing estate, now littered with shopping trolleys, concrete blocks, and broken glass. "I've been here maybe a month or more," Mr De Leon said. He chose the site because it was quiet, and he was usually on his own. "I don't want to go with others with the tent," he said. The Victorian government has promised to build 120 homes on this sprawling block of land on Bendigo's northern outskirts. But after years of delays, the approximately 2.8-hectare block remains empty and dilapidated. The father of two said the social housing waiting list took so long that it was not worth the trouble. "It takes a while before you get that place … maybe a year, I reckon," he said. In recent weeks, Mr De Leon has encountered a fellow rough sleeper, as well as a woman who lives in her car, who frequent the site. Mr De Leon says he moved to the region frustrated by the social housing application process in Melbourne. ( ABC News: Emile Pavlich ) Housing estate faces major delays The Virginia Hill estate was a former mine site that was transformed into a public housing block in the 1980s. In 2018, the Victorian government promised to revamp the aging estate. Instead, it was partially demolished in 2023 after being abandoned and plagued by fires and squatters. The site is meant to house one of the state government's Big Housing Build projects: a mix of 129 social, affordable, and private homes at the cost of $47 million. But for the past year and a half, the site has remained fenced off and vacant. The concrete blocks from the old public housing estates have still not been demolished. Some residents are frustrated with the state of the vacant block. Willi Carney looks at plans on the Homes Victoria Virginia Hill housing project. ( ABC News: Emile Pavlich ) Willi Carney, a former Eaglehawk mayor, believed plans for the Virginia Hill housing estate were bad housing policy. Ms Carney has led a group of residents petitioning the state government against the proposed model. "Pulling something down in the middle of a housing crisis, I found it difficult," she said. "I know we need housing. "But what's needed here in the borough [of Eaglehawk] is smaller places for our elderly." Ms Carney said this would free up housing stock, where the elderly were living, in the township. Of the more than 120 homes, more than 80 will be social housing. Ms Carney disagreed about the concentration of social housing put forward. "I've been interested in planning all my life, and that 129-housing concept up there is just a nightmare and shouldn't happen," she said. Project 'on track', says agency A Homes Victoria spokesperson said more consultation would be held with locals later this year. "Construction for the 129 modern social and affordable homes in Virginia Hill is on track to start late this year, subject to planning approval," the spokesperson said. Homes Victoria identified contaminants within the soil at the Virginia Hill site, however, the agency concluded there was minimal risk that it would impact people. In September 2023, then-premier Daniel Andrews said the site would be built "reasonably quickly". ( ABC News: Emile Pavlich ) The ABC understands Homes Victoria will need to remediate the site, which has been endorsed by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). The EPA did not respond to the ABC's request for comment. The Virginia Hill site is located within the electorate of Premier Jacinta Allan. When asked about whether soil contaminants had caused delays to construction, she said it was a legacy of gold mining in the area. "There has been a lot of work that's been done on the site in terms of its rehabilitation and to be ready for the construction of brand new homes," Premier Allan said. The ABC understands that costs for remediation and relocation of the previous public housing tenants had been factored into overall budgets. The Victorian government said social housing would be allocated to people on the Victorian Housing Register. "The affordable homes give everyday Victorians access to housing at a more affordable rent and will be available with three-year, fixed-term rental agreements to give renters more security," the spokesperson said. The Homes Victoria website says community consultation is still being carried out. ( ABC News: Emile Pavlich ) 'One of the least transparent policy initiatives', says academic RMIT University Centre for Urban Research director Libby Porter said various elements of the Victorian government's housing policies were "intensifying the housing crisis" by disinvesting in public housing and therefore reducing overall supply. "The state government has not been a good landlord," Professor Porter said. She said rather than demolish and rebuild sites, which she said reduced housing supply, the government needed to consider refurbishing and renovating existing blocks. "What we're seeing across the board in the Big Housing Build, and its previous iteration in the Public Housing Renewal Program, is sometimes a 100 per cent loss of public housing on all those sites because what we're not building back is public housing," she said. "What we're building back is market housing, with a little smattering sometimes of what's called affordable housing — which has no meaning — and social housing delivered by community and housing providers. "None of it's public housing, so we've just got a mass loss of public housing." Professor Porter has researched urbanisation and the impacts of housing injustice. ( ABC News: Emile Pavlich ) As a researcher, Professor Porter said it was difficult to track how public money was spent on the Big Housing Build. "I would say the Big Housing Build is one of the least transparent policy initiatives that I have ever seen in my research career," she said. The researcher said relevant datasets, initially publicly available, surrounding the status and delivery of Big Housing Build projects had been deleted. In addition, she said information about the cost per dwelling was not available, nor was the cost of rehoming people who formerly lived in public housing estates. All of this, Professor Porter said, amounted to serious questions around the scheme's transparency. "It is profoundly difficult to get information, good information, actual information about what's occurring," she said. "It's really hard to say how many homes have been delivered and how many have been promised. "That number is very rubbery; it changes all the time." The Victorian government said the Homes Victoria website provided information about a range of these social and affordable projects being delivered. Tight rental market Questions over the Virginia Hill Estate's future come as social services and real estate agents report huge demand for affordable housing in Greater Bendigo. According to the Real Estate Investar website, of all rental properties in Eaglehawk, around 0.2 per cent are vacant and can be lived in. Multi-storey developments of units are set to be built in regional areas, where there is a desperate need for more affordable housing. ( ABC News: Keana Naughton ) Bendigo real estate agent Tom Maher said a recent one-bedroom unit advertised for rent in Kangaroo Flat received 90 applications. They typically receive 20 to 40 applications per rental property. "We're losing between 10 and 15 per cent of our rentals a year. They're being sold," Mr Maher said. Mr De Leon said, ultimately, he felt frustrated going through the competitive application process when applying for a lease in Melbourne. "That's why I left for regional Victoria," he said. However, he admitted that if his kids knew his lot, it would be difficult to explain. "Of course, it's heartbreaking," he said. ABC Central Vic —local news in your inbox Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Tuesday Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
