Scott Clements’ 2024 Wrap-Up

The Year That Was

2024 started like 2023 finished–with the possum still clogging up the downpipe while it continued to rain hard. (I’m sure you all know that possum = construction cost and raining hard = demand). Would the rain continue to fall? Would the possum get blown out? Would someone please just build more pipes??? In reality, I believe the rain has started to ease, whilst some water snuck past the poor possum. At this stage, I don’t see anyone building any more pipes (i.e., increasing capacity), although recent changes to immigration may help bring more skilled labour to increase construction capacity.

Anyway, enough with this laboured analogy, and onto 2024’s wrap-up. Since everyone is beyond busy at this time of year, I’ve split it up into a few categories so you can just go to something that catches your eye (although I’m just happy you managed to get this far).

Market

It really seemed to be a tale of two halves in 2024. As mentioned above, we saw a pretty flat start to the year–despite a lot of energy, there was very little movement (damn possum). However, come June, the brakes came off, with a number of projects commencing and new opportunities coming in even faster. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a similar conversation with others in the property and construction market covering several sectors, and the sentiment was mostly the same. In particular, at Inertia, we’ve seen multiple sectors move forward strongly, including residential land, complex industrial/processing, social and affordable housing, aged care and seniors, and even commercial fit-out and repurposing.

What does 2025 hold in store? Considering I didn’t forecast the market to be this strong until say… February/March next year, I expect we are going to see more of the same, with only capacity (including councils/utilities, consultants, and contractors) acting as a handbrake for what could truly be one of the strongest ever seen in Queensland (perhaps that is more likely the 2026 forecast).

Politics

Albeit belatedly, almost everything that has occurred in the realm of politics in 2024 has supported the green shoots of stability, confidence, and growth in the industry. We all know the big one being the excellent and brave journalism by Nine’s papers (AFR, The Age, Herald, etc.), shining a light on the issues with a particular construction union and the almost unprecedented move by the federal government to put them into administration. While I’m not holding my breath regarding any significant long-lasting impact (for that we need a lot more than administration–I’ve got plenty of ideas if anyone wants to hear), it has helped bring a much-needed balance and confidence back to the construction industry.

There are other political impacts, including the change of government in Queensland, who haven’t had the chance to do much as yet, but their engagement with various industry sectors and their messaging around support has been enough to improve sentiment and give the industry a level of stability that is needed to mitigate the risk of long-term and large-scale investments. Lastly, the recent change to the fast-track visa system by the federal government (better late than never) to allow skilled construction labour will also support the capacity (and confidence) of the industry.

What do I wish for from our politicians in 2025? This comes back to my view on the best place for the government to focus: providing support to those who need it, creating stability (leading to confidence), and providing catalytic investment to get this moving. We have seen too many short-term/shotgun solutions, and my concern is that this will land us in a bigger mess (including greater debt and a bigger, less efficient government) than we are in now. Keep it simple, plan for now and the future, pull everything together, and then step back to let the private sector deliver the rest.

Advocacy & Impact

At Inertia, one of our strategic pillars is ‘impact’. What positive, lasting contribution do we want to leave on our environment and communities? I am very proud of the strides we have made in this area over the course of 2024. A snapshot of some of the things we have achieved include:

• Olympics Legacy Event – With some of Brisbane’s boldest and most inspirational speakers, we challenged everyone to not think about the Olympics as 4 weeks of events, but as an opportunity for 50 years of amazing legacy.
• Social & Affordable Housing – Hosting several roundtable discussions with passionate experts across all parts of the industry to discuss ideas and plot a pathway to better and more affordable outcomes for our communities.
• Charity Work – From raising money through PIF hike, Vinnies CEO Sleepout, and Movember to making lunches for underprivileged school kids through Eat Up, our team has gone all in to support charities throughout 2024.

Projects

As it seems with every year, we are lucky to keep working with more great clients on more exciting projects, and 2024 has been no different. Some of the projects that have kicked off in earnest this year include:

• The Translational Research Institute (health/research facility at the Princess Alexandra Hospital)
• The Quarry (residential subdivision on a quarry site)
• Aeromedical Base (500m long hangar and office facility for key flight-based services)
• Indooroopilly State School (significant expansion to the existing school)
• Carseldine Social Housing

…as well as numerous other social housing, seniors living, and high-end house projects. In all, we have worked on over 350 projects across various sectors and are truly grateful to our clients for allowing us these opportunities.

Team Inertia

We spent the first few months of the year undertaking some restructuring of our buildings group, which has led to increased alignment and connection between teams. This, in turn, has increased both our capacity and capability and allowed us to grow strongly yet sustainably to meet workload demands. In fact, over the last 8 months, we have welcomed 18 new Inertians who have all had a positive impact on the business and, by extension, our projects and clients. From a leadership perspective, we have had another two key leaders join: Ivan O’Connor (Design Team Lead) and Debra Ellis (Finance Manager), adding further depth of experience to our team.

Lastly, we had one of the most exciting steps in Inertia’s journey: welcoming Sean Stacey as a major shareholder. Sean’s impact on Inertia through his commitment, passion, and expertise has been immense, and we are excited to have him on board. Look out for more announcements in this space throughout 2025!

Wishing you all the best for the festive season and looking forward to catching up during what promises to be an exciting 2025!