HOMELESSNESS — RENT INCREASES AND EVICTIONS
826. Mr A. KRSTICEVIC to
the Premier:
I refer to the homelessness crisis overseen by the government's
incompetent Minister for Community Services and the government's decision to secretly sell off over 1 000 public
houses. Given the extremely low rental vacancy rate in Western Australia,
can the Premier confirm that the homelessness crisis will get worse when the
freeze on rent increases and evictions is lifted and a large number of poor and
vulnerable people will be forced onto the streets?
Mr M. McGOWAN
replied:
Seriously, this member has outdone himself again. We have an
outstanding Minister for Community Services; Women's Interests in the
member for Fremantle, who does a terrific job in a difficult portfolio.
Mrs L.M. Harvey interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN: The nastiness and the bile from the
Liberal Party is ongoing. It is being whispered across the chamber, as per
normal.
Clearly, it is a difficult portfolio and there are lots of
issues to deal with. We are ensuring that there is a massive increase in the
supply of housing for Western Australians. The figures that have come out in
the last few months show that there is more residential housing construction
per capita in Western Australia than in any other state in the country by a long, long way. Under this
government, more people are getting and owning their own homes than in
any other state in Australia. We kept Keystart operating in the way that it has
traditionally operated to allow for that and we have put in place grants, in
conjunction with the commonwealth government, to allow more people to build
their own homes. We have worked very cooperatively with the commonwealth
government, and I urge it to continue its $25 000 grant, as the state
government is continuing its $25 000 grant, through to the end of next year, to allow more people to build their own home. The
way governments generally deal with these sorts of issues is to secure
more housing supply—more people in their own house—to deal with
people moving out of rentals. That is what we are doing. Members would probably
find that a great many of the people building houses are currently renting
properties and they will move into those other properties in due course.
In terms of Homeswest,
obviously we had to deal with some longstanding issues—whether it was
Brownlie Towers, the flats on Stirling Street or the hundreds upon
hundreds of dilapidated properties that needed to be demolished. The government
had to deal with that because it had never been dealt with before. I do not
know whether members opposite ever went to or saw those places. If they did,
they would know it was something that had to be dealt with. We have dealt with
that. We are putting in place combined programs worth around $800 million of
additional spend in both public housing and the program for people to build
their own home.
I might note that the
housing market and the housing industry in Western Australia are going
extraordinarily well. If any members
opposite ever talk to members of the housing industry or people involved in
housing construction—I note they do not attend industry events or
functions anymore—they would know that they are incredibly impressed
and incredibly optimistic about the market as it currently stands and the
number of people getting into their own home.