Australia politics live: Coalition promises to simplify construction code to help speed up housing builds

Should energy efficiency standards in housing be optional? The opposition is considering it.

Andrew Bragg says under his 80-page national construction code essential structural, fire safety and health requirements will be compulsory but additional features will be “optional”.

The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, is in the RN Breakfast hot seat after Jim Chalmers and is asked whether that sounds about right to him.

Wilson says there are “risks on all side” in whether you make energy efficiency standards compulsory or not, and that different parts of the country have different climates so there shouldn’t be a “one size fits all approach”.

double quotation mark We have a risk that Australians can’t afford to rent or to buy their own home by the government’s own budget design.

There are some places in the country where you will get cold spells or hot spells for a very small amount of the year, whereas for the rest of the year, it’s not necessary … Some people call it putting a jumper on in winter rather than spending huge amounts of money, tens of thousands of dollars.