During the pandemic years, Darren Trigg faced seven-day work weeks, burnout, missed deadlines and understaffing.

As project director at Integra, the Ballarat-based property developer, he faced growing demand for regional house builds thanks to investors and tree changers.

“It’s been very difficult to find staff, not only from the perspective of construction workers on the ground…but also professional services like engineers and surveyors.”

The State Government now wants to build 46,900 new homes in Ballarat by 2051, and Mr Trigg fears it will be even more difficult than during the COVID-19 crisis.

Indeed, projects like the West Gate Tunnel and Melbourne’s Suburban Rail Loop, with their larger budgets, can pay their workers higher wages and offer more incentives than regional builders.

The allure of Melbourne

Mr Trigg said traders in the city could earn twice as much as those in regional areas.

“On a regional civil project, someone might earn $1,200 a week, while in comparative terms they might earn between $2,500 and $2,600 on one of the Big Build projects in Melbourne,” he said. -he declared.

“There aren’t a lot of major regional infrastructure projects underway that are comparable in size to those in the city, that’s just the way it is.”

Mr Trigg said he expected the labor shortage to be “a real challenge” for builders trying to meet government targets.

“This is going to put a lot of pressure on the construction sector in a regional city,” he said.

“Where there are other big skyscrapers (in Melbourne) and everything else, trying to attract staff to the regions is really going to be a challenge.”

Mr Trigg’s concern is shared by David Moyle, a director of another construction company in the city and president of the Master Builders Association of Ballarat.

He said a qualified subcontractor carpenter could expect to earn 30 per cent more per week building houses in Melbourne than in regional Victoria.

“We don’t know exactly where the workforce is going, but we know they’re looking for higher values ​​in Melbourne, and really all we’re being told is, ‘We can earn a “X amount on these projects on an hourly basis. So that’s what we’re going to do for now,” he said.

“Lowering the housing target won’t change the outcome, I think we really need government support to attract quality, skilled trades to the region outside of metropolitan Melbourne.”

Prime Minister Jacinta Allan said the Government was investing in free TAFE courses to address the construction sector labor shortage, which she said was plaguing nationally.

“Investing in new business facilities in regional Victoria TAFEs is an important part of giving young people in regional Victoria a pathway into the trades,” she said.

“It’s a priority for us.”

A story of more cities

Contrary to builders, a Ballarat advocacy body says the government’s housing targets are not ambitious enough.

Ballarat committee leader Michael Poulton said there was a missed opportunity in government policy, which had directed 85 per cent of Victoria’s population growth to Melbourne.

“Victorians are being deceived at the moment,” Mr Poulton said.

He said Victoria needed to “pause and rethink the question: is this the kind of state we want?” »

“If we had larger regional cities in Ballarat, Geelong and Bendigo, could we take the population pressure off Melbourne and invest in those regional cities?” » asked Mr. Poulton.

“It’s cheaper to build infrastructure regionally than in Melbourne, and you eliminate some of the challenges of population growth in a rapidly growing city.”

Mr Poulton said with the right investment, regional towns could grow and operate like Melbourne’s suburbs do.

“We now have two stations (in Ballarat) for 120,000 people,” he said.

“It’s not enough as it is, so if we’re talking about making Ballarat a city of 300,000 people, we’re talking about at least four rail stations – potentially more which can then serve that population in a more metropolitan style.”