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Where we live gives us power in the State Election

John GelavisSponsored
Master Builders Executive Director John Gelavis.
Camera IconMaster Builders Executive Director John Gelavis. Credit: The West Australian

Our communities are not just important on a local level, sometimes they can swing governments.

Whether we live in a typical suburban four-by-two, an inner-city apartment or a unit by the beach, our neighbourhood can be in the spotlight at election time if it’s in a marginal seat.

In the lead up to the election next month, Master Builders has analysed the state electorates to find areas with the highest concentration of people working in the building and construction industry.

The North West Central Electorate has been revealed as the most dependent on the building industry, employing almost 20 per cent of residents.

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It’s followed by a cluster of Perth northern suburbs, including Butler, Burns Beach, Wanneroo and Joondalup.

The analysis also shows construction accounts for at least 10 per cent of employment in half the state electorates.

State and federal grants have set the building industry up to be a driving force in the COVID-19 recovery, so it’s vital for the next State Government to ease the way to success.

The top 10 construction seats in Western Australia are:

  1. North West Central (19.4 per cent)
  2. Butler (14.3 per cent)
  3. Burns Beach (14 per cent)
  4. Wanneroo (13.8 per cent)
  5. Joondalup (13 per cent)
  6. Vasse (12.8 per cent)
  7. Dawesville (12.7 per cent)
  8. Warnbro (12.2 per cent)
  9. Hillarys (11.9 per cent)
  10. Landsdale (11.8 per cent).

The building and construction industry is the state’s second largest employer with 120,000 people or nine per cent of the WA workforce and more than 40 per cent of apprentices.

There are 40,176 small businesses in the building and construction sector – more than any other industry. They are responsible for more than half the industry’s output and almost one-third of jobs, but they are held back by heavy taxes, over-regulation and excessive compliance burdens which add to the cost of homes and infrastructure.

The government chosen to lead WA for the next four years needs policies that will support the industry in creating jobs, training people, driving wider economic growth and building better communities.

Builders are asking WA’s next State Government to help the industry grow and increase its contribution to the economy.

To see where your electorate fits, see the analysis and advocacy documents at www.mbawa.com/2021-state-election.

It’s time for all of us to decide what’s important to us and make our votes count in the election.

Q&A with MBA Technical Building Services Manager Jason Robertson

The Question

I have just had my concrete slab poured for my house. I am happy with everything but noticed some very small cracks in a couple of spots and was wondering if it is something to be worried about? They are not really that noticeable and I was told this is quite normal.

The Answer

Generally, most footing and slab systems are designed and expected to move within acceptable limits to cope with the site-specific conditions. This movement can result in what is often called ‘minor distress’ to the building, and includes cracking and gaps to the floors, walls and ceiling. This is not uncommon.

Damages to slabs are defined under a specific Australian Standard – AS 2870-2011: Residential slabs and Footings – Construction, Table C2: Classification of damage with reference to concrete floors.

With the concrete slab itself, a crack that is up to 1mm in width is considered very slight and well within tolerances. Cracks up to 2mm are considered slight and still well within tolerances.

As always, talk through anything you are unsure of with your builder.

CONTACT Master Builders WA, 9476 9800, www.mbawa.com

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