“The amount of engineering construction work done is well down on a year ago with the building and construction industry still waiting for the green light on key infrastructure projects,” Shane Garrett, Chief Economist of Master Builders Australia .
“During the June 2019 quarter, the volume of engineering construction work done slipped by 0.9% and was 15.4% lower than the same period in 2018,” he said.
“Master Builders continues to call for the construction of infrastructure projects to be fast-tracked,” Shane Garrett said.
“The heavy volume of new infrastructure project announcements over recent times is very welcome, but today’s figures confirm that there are significant blockages in the way of getting project work started on the ground which must be addressed,” he said.
“Tackling the blockages and obstacles in the way of infrastructure projects is an issue which must be prioritised by all levels of government,” Denita Wawn said.
“With the pace of economic growth at its weakest in a decade, the prompt delivery of new infrastructure is vital for getting us all moving in the right direction,” Shane Garrett said.
During the June 2019 quarter, the largest decline in engineering construction work done affected the ACT (-13.1%) followed by Tasmania (-12.7%) and the Northern Territory (-11.6%). There were also falls in South Australia (-5.8%), Queensland (-5.1%) and Victoria (-4.8%).
Over the same period, both Western Australia (+10.3%) and New South Wales (+3.2%) saw gains in the volume of engineering construction work done.
