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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 646 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 15 August 2019 by Mr J.N. Carey

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

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.