METRONET — SOCIAL
AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
646. Mr J.N. CAREY to the Minister for Housing:
I refer to the Metronet social and
affordable housing and jobs package, which will create more opportunities for Western Australians to access housing options
close to services and public transport. Can the minister outline to the
house how this $394 million job-creating package is delivering more affordable
housing options in the Perth CBD and supporting the first stage of Metronet;
and is the minister aware of any threats to this government's aim of
delivering responsible and sustainable infill?
Mr P.C.
TINLEY replied:
I thank the member for the question
and his enduring advocacy for the densification of the city, or, as we say,
making better spaces, which is very much what the Metronet project is all
about. The $4.5 billion urban rail investment of this government is creating
some of the best infill opportunities we have seen in the history of this city.
An amount of $394 million over the forward estimates will be applied to the
affordable housing and jobs package around these precincts.
I am very proud to announce to the
house that we are now in agreement with Peet Ltd for the construction of an apartment block in Pier Street, 27 storeys, with
mixed use on the ground floor, very much in the walkable catchment of
the Metronet line—the heritage line there—to create the sort of
outcomes that we have come to expect from the internationalising city that we
need to have in Western Australia to engage with our region. Twenty-seven of
those units will be social housing, and a further 27 will be provided in the
affordable housing area. We are really thankful that we have brought in
world-class architects Klopper and Davis to help us make sure we get that
nested well. We are very grateful also to the City of Perth, which has a planning
policy that identifies that if social and affordable quotas are provided within
a development, it is entitled to a 15 per cent plot-ratio increase, which we
applied for and received. The agency has been very active in ensuring that we
maximise the taxpayer value from the land and the commercial arrangements to
deliver what I think will be a leading example of accommodation within the CBD.
It
is really important to understand, though, that these projects take some time.
They take time to plan and design and, of
course, they are market facing. The agency has always been reliant on the market
and the uptake to cross-subsidise the construction, and the revenue of
the department, so that we can include social and affordable options within it.
We expect to open presales in the first half of next year and start
construction in the second half of next year. I look forward to bringing the
progress report on that back to the house.
Of course, the construction itself,
which will add to the city skyline, will involve 200 construction jobs and
bring in $80 million worth of economic
activity. Treasury identified that the whole jobs package will create 2 378 additional
jobs in construction and a further $765 million worth of economic activity.
Across the entire package, it will deliver 400 new affordable homes and 320
social housing dwellings to reduce pressure on the housing waitlist.
What is really important about these sorts of places is that
they are mixed-used, and this mixed demographic creates a vibrant community. It
is really important that members of this house understand the mixed nature and
importance of social and affordable housing,
even in places such as the western suburbs. I was really disappointed by
statements made by the member for Cottesloe not so long ago, when he
first became a member, in an interview about social housing in Mosman Park. I do
not understand where he is coming from. He said in his comments on 6PR that
Mosman Park was more dangerous than the Middle East.
Several members interjected.
Mr P.C. TINLEY: I know
Cottesloe can be a rough place! Twiggy is down there swinging a bat and
creating changes, and there is a really active anti-development group there,
but, really, that was a very long bow for him to draw. A few of us on both
sides of the house were in the sandbox. We did not quite see him there. We look
forward to him wearing the body armour he so sorely needs as he doorknocks
every house in his electorate, as he claimed in that same interview.
Several members interjected.
Mr P.C. TINLEY: We might
have one we can lend him. The member for Churchlands might have one in the
bottom of his trunk that he can give the member some help with.
One of the other aspects we need to
understand—the Pier Street project is a very important aspect of that—is
that we need to continue to slow down the urban sprawl of this city. It is
longer than the sprawl in Los Angeles and, per kilometre, there are more water
pipes in Perth than in Tokyo. We have to do something about that. We have always
had a bipartisan approach to the way we densify this city. That seems to have
broken down under the current Leader of the Opposition. She did not consult
with the various organisations, such as the Property Council of Australia and
the Urban Development Institute of Australia, when she decided to walk away
from density, particularly in the case of Subiaco—again, those
hard-done-by western suburb areas. She walked away from the idea that we need
to create thoughtful density. The Leader of the Opposition is starting to get
form here. She did not consult with the peak property bodies nor has she
consulted with the peak transport bodies. This Leader of the Opposition wants
to increase urban sprawl and pay for it with tolls. She will be in a policy
vacuum from which she cannot dig herself out. I encourage her to come to the
debate and engage with a community that knows what is required here.