HOUSING — SPOT PURCHASING — 2021–22
STATE BUDGET
727. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the Leader of the House
representing the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the government's budgetary announcement of the allocation of
$40 million for a program of spot purchasing for social housing in both
regional and metropolitan areas of Western Australia.
(1) What proportion of the $40 million
program has been allocated to —
(a) regional WA;
(b) the south west; and
(c) the great southern?
(2) What are the purchasing criteria
applicable to this program?
(3) Who will have oversight and
final determination of the acquisitions of the spot purchasing program?
(4) Given the billions of dollars above budget that
the government has received in revenue for two and a half years, why has
the government waited until now to act on the existing housing crisis?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The
McGowan government is investing $2.1 billion into social housing over the next
four years, which includes the recently
announced record investment of $875 million as part of the 2021–22
state budget. This is the single
largest one-off investment in social housing in the state's history and
will provide an immediate boost to
social housing. The $40 million funding commitment announced as part of the
2021–22 state budget is only part of the spot purchase program.
The current spot purchase program
allocation is as follows —
(a) regional WA, $11.6 million;
(b) the south west, $1.3 million; and
(c) the great southern, $1.7 million.
The spot purchase program has been
designed to ensure that properties identified for consideration are aligned to
the priority waitlist and regional demand and reflect a long-term
value-for-money investment for government.
Property acquisitions are approved in
line with the Department of Communities' financial delegation framework
and managed through a program control group within the department.