Host: Builders in the NT and farther afield in Australia are now refusing to sign fixed term contracts due to the rising cost of material.

The fuel crisis has seen the price of some building material, particularly plumbing, increased by 40% just over the last six weeks.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: An industry under the pump

Jim Eadie, Master Builders NT President: In the raw Construction Industry, Concrete reinforcement, steel, plaster boards going up, all sorts of materials that all rely on those freight and delivery of the materials.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: Rising fuel costs are hitting Australia’s construction industry hard.

That’s biting hardest in the top End.

The cost of this PVC pipe used for dozens of buildings, plumbing and electrical jobs has risen by more than 40% since the war in Iran began.

Jim Eadie, Master Builders NT President: Costing diesel to get to the territory there.

It’s in a truck to get it here, so that that freight alone is impacting, impacting us.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: The Master Builders Association has asked commercial clients in the NT government to consider these rising costs on infrastructure projects already underway.

Jim Eadie, Master Builders NT President: There are mechanisms within their contracts that we need to negotiate with our clients for the cost of this rise and fall.

The Hon. Bill Yan, Treasurer of the Northern Territory: We’re looking at how the fuel crisis effects those businesses providing services to the territory and what that looks like within their contracts to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by them.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: But the biggest worry is for residential builders.

There are now concerns about the impact of this crisis on housing supply.

Sky News has been told the builders are refusing to take on fixed term contracts because they’re worried if prices continue to rise, they’ll be the ones left out of pocket.

Jim Eadie, Master Builders NT President: The great concern is that the cost will continue to increase.

We are trying to keep a cap on, on the price increases because we would see that not only houses are now not going to be built, but commercial projects won’t be built, schools, shops and those sorts of things.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: The industry wants to see suppliers fix their prices but add a fuel levy to account for the cost of the war.

They say this would avoid the issue seen after the pandemic where prices were permanently baked in.

Jim Eadie, Master Builders NT President: So we’re we are comfortable to support them with an additional fuel levy for their plant equipment.

But once the fuel prices come back down, we just dial back the fuel levy pro-rated until we’re back to normal.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: Meanwhile, the Government has implemented the Price Exploitation Prevention Act, giving it the power to find companies if they increase their prices without justification.

The Treasurer has warned he will extend that power to other businesses if they fail to do the right thing.

The Hon. Bill Yan, Treasurer of the Northern Territory: We can, if need be, apply this act to other goods if they are declared to make sure that people are not exploited by unscrupulous retailers and unscrupulous wholesalers here in the territory.

Matt Cunningham, Sky News: Matt Cunningham, Sky News.