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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 2425 asked in the Legislative Council on 3 September 2019 by Hon Jacqui Boydell

Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment representing the Minister for Housing
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 3264- View tabled paper


Question

(1) I refer to the towns of Kalgoorlie Boulder, Coolgardie, Norseman, Menzies, Laverton and Leonora, and I ask:
(a) will the Minister provide the number of houses in each town owned and/or leased by the Department of Housing annually for the last five years;
(b) on how many occasions in the last five years have each of the houses in (a) had noise complaints/disorderly conduct and/or damage complaints lodged against them; and
(c) will the minister outline what, if any, response came from the Department of Housing on each of the occasions in (b)?
(2) Will the Minister table the investment plan for social housing in the Goldfields, Kimberley and Pilbara Regions?

Answered on 15 October 2019

(1) (a) Number of houses in each town:

Public Housing

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

Boulder

261

259

260

260

258

Coolgardie

23

23

23

23

20

Kalgoorlie

385

383

383

372

371

Laverton

31

27

27

27

26

Leonora

52

52

52

52

50

Menzies

0

0

0

0

0

Norseman

10

9

9

8

8

TOTAL:

762

753

754

742

733

 

Community Housing

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

Boulder

1

1

1

5

5

Coolgardie

0

0

0

0

0

Kalgoorlie

54

54

55

69

69

Laverton

0

0

0

0

0

Leonora

0

0

0

0

0

Menzies

0

0

0

0

0

Norseman

0

0

0

0

0

TOTAL:

55

55

56

74

74

 

GROH

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

 

Owned

Leased

Owned

Leased

Owned

Leased

Owned

Leased

Owned

Leased

Boulder

15

5

14

4

12

3

12

4

11

6

Coolgardie

7

0

7

0

7

0

7

0

6

1

Kalgoorlie

135

369

145

334

141

330

138

352

134

355

Laverton

23

0

29

0

29

0

27

0

24

0

Leonora

23

1

22

0

22

0

22

0

22

1

Menzies

4

2

4

2

1

2

0

2

0

2

Norseman

24

2

23

1

18

0

16

0

15

0

Sub Total:

231

379

244

341

230

335

222

358

212

365

TOTAL:

610

585

565

580

577

  

All Property Types

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

TOTAL:

1427

1393

1375

1396

1384

Please note: Figures are based on data as at end of each financial year (i.e. 2018-19 FY - refers to date as at 30 June 2019). Data sourced from Habitat (Tenancy Management System).

(b) The Department of Communities (Communities) reports on disruptive behaviour by financial year by region. The towns of Kalgoorlie Boulder, Coolgardie, Norseman, Menzies, Laverton and Leonora fall within the Goldfields region. Complaints are not broken down by category as complaints may encompass multiple behaviour types including, but not limited to; excessive noise, abusive language, physical violence, trespass and property damage.

Financial Year

Number of Complaints

2014-15

438

2015-16

471

2016-17

426

2017-18

513

2018-19

480

Please note: Complaints Received includes multiple complaints for the one incident and complaints not verified. Complaints Received includes disruptive behaviour & illegal use of premises.

(c) When disruptive behaviour complaints are received, Communities investigates in accordance with its obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and its Disruptive Behaviour Management Strategy.

As a landlord, Communities must prove an incident has occurred as reported before taking action against a tenant. As part of its investigation, Communities will seek to corroborate complaints with independent witnesses and the WA Police where appropriate. It will also make all efforts to discuss complaints with the tenant and provide the tenant with an opportunity to respond via natural justice.

Should complaints be corroborated, Communities will issue a formal strike against the tenancy, which remains active for a 12-month period. Tenants who receive strikes are linked with supports to assist in sustaining their tenancy, such as the new Thrive program and, where appropriate, Aboriginal Customer Services Officers.

The Disruptive Behaviour Management Strategy is working to curb disruptive behaviour and sustain tenancies. Once a first strike is issued, there is a significant reduction in tenancies receiving further strikes. This is represented in the data below.

Public Housing Disruptive Behaviour Strikes - Goldfields Region

Region

Strikes

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

 

Goldfields

First Strikes

66

74

41

47

39

Second Strikes

22

28

13

9

9

Third Strikes

9

6

2

1

1

Please note: Data is subject to revision – backdating may occur as a result of report capture and timing delays.

(2) [See tabled paper No.]