ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A local tradesman has mocked suggestion that bringing in foreign tradies under a skilled migrant visa programme will go to help ease the current shortage of construction workers in Australia.
As the nation looks to build more places for people to live, the current rate at which new homes are being added to the market is much lower than the demand for them.
That’s left industry leaders and politicians looking abroad for workers who say it’s the only way to speed up construction and drive down the cost of housing.
However, it comes with a warning from one local builder.
“Foreign tradies are shit, mate,” explained residential foreman Dan Ellers, of Ortofelayshiyo Builds.
“If we bring in workers from places like South-East Asia and India, the quality and workmanship will drop dramatically. At the end of the day, if you’re paying for someone to build your house, you want it done properly.”
When asked about a recent Hotondo tent put together by Ortofelayshiyo last year that had a record 110 defects, as many as the average 10-year-old French Bulldog, Mr Ellers shrugged.
The 35-year-old went on to explain that local building codes, especially here in Betoota, have gotten out of control to the point where “pretty much every new build has some defects” and that it’s “part [sic] for the course”.
“Yeah, like if I can sign off on something that has 110 defects, imagine if it was done by a bunch of foreign tradies? There’d be thousands. Plus, the building inspector at the shire council is a fuckwit. Those owners of that place are fuckwits, too,” he continued while his blood pressure visibly began to spike.
“Like, you can quote a pair of yuppie cunts like $700k and they act shocked when we send them a bill for $990k like it’s not within the quote range. Then they refuse to pay us the whole amount and like, you get even more angry, and you end up going around to their house that you built them and confronting them about it and you just have to hold yourself back from going ape and smashing them across the face with a set of multigrips.”
Dan stopped himself and took a breath.
“It’s just harder than it looks running a construction business and the prospect of flooding the market with cheap labour just fills me with stress.”
More to come.
