More than 200 families in the Wide Bay-Burnett region have taken the opportunity to buy their first home with the help of the Newman Government’s $15,000 Great Start Grant.
It’s great to see that the program announced in the 2012-13 Budget has now paid out 212 grants in the region.
This includes 45 grants paid in and around Bundaberg.
We promised at the election to kick-start the construction industry, after it stagnated under the former Labor government, by encouraging new entrants into the housing market.
That’s exactly what the Great Start Grants are doing.
The Government has paid out $675,000 in grants in Bundaberg and more than $3 million across the Wide Bay-Burnett region.
Millions more has been injected into the construction industry as first home buyers purchase their new homes.
Construction is one of the four pillars of the Queensland economy and is particularly important in Bundaberg and Burnett, with 8.2 per cent of the region’s total workforce employed in the industry.
The results speak for themselves.
The value of building approvals in the region has increased by almost $20 million in the last 12 months.
This shows the Newman Government’s efforts to grow this vital pillar of the Bundaberg economy are having a positive effect.
The Great Start Grant isavailable to first home buyers, purchasing or building a new house, townhouse or unit valued at up to $750,000.
More information about the grant and eligibility criteria is available at https://greatstartgrant.osr.qld.gov.au