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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 359 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 5 August 2021 by Dr K. Stratton

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

HOMELESSNESS — BOORLOO BIDEE MIA SERVICE

359. Dr K. STRATTON to the Minister for Community Services:

I refer to the McGowan Labor government's unprecedented investment in services and support for those experiencing homelessness. Can the minister outline to the house how the new 100-bed homelessness service in Perth will ensure that there is a culturally appropriate response to those who are rough sleeping in the CBD, and can the minister advise the house how this service will complement this government's other investments in breaking the cycle of homelessness?

Ms S.F. McGURK replied:

I am very pleased to speak during Homelessness Week about another of our announcements in order to address the difficult issue of homelessness in our community. As the member said, we were very pleased today to open Boorloo Bidee Mia in Wellington Street. In Whadjuk, that means ''Perth pathway to housing'', and that is exactly what this facility is designed to do. It will not just be for Aboriginal people, but it will be run by Aboriginal-controlled organisations and has been designed for Aboriginal people, who are over-represented in our homeless community. We do not have dedicated homeless facilities at the moment for Aboriginal people. It will be designed to be inviting for them and be an opportunity for them to come in from the streets, get a roof over their head, get stable and, importantly, engage with services to get their lives back on track. I think Daniel Morrison, who is the CEO of Wungening Aboriginal Corporation, put it best this morning when he said that Boorloo Bidee Mia is more than a shelter. He said that it will be a community. It will be a community of service providers, people with lived experience and dedicated workers who will work with those clients to meet their needs, and meet them where they are. It might be getting their identification organised, getting their Centrelink payments on track, getting them medical appointments and getting them some diagnosis or treatment plans organised so that they can then move on to the next stage and into more stable housing. Perhaps it will be for them to move to other places such as a regional area where they have family and community, back to their remote communities—whatever is required. It is a fantastic announcement, and I would really like to thank not only Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and Noongar Mia Mia as the other Aboriginal-controlled organisation that has partnered with the Department of Communities to get this facility opened, but also all those bodies that have been there working very hard to make sure that the facility was opened during Homelessness Week. It is very fitting.

In fact, listening to the Minister for Finance's answer to a previous question about our government's commitment to ensure that there is a pipeline of work given to Aboriginal-controlled organisations and Aboriginal businesses so that they are well placed to be able to competitively bid for not only government contracts, but any contracts, it was good to see that Kardan Construction, which is an Aboriginal-controlled building company, was one of the organisations that was doing work to get this facility ready. It was a very positive environment at the opening today, but we might have all been upstaged by a small girl, Jasmine, who had put on make-up especially for the facility, and she helped with the welcome to country there today.

I was a bit perplexed to see some critics—I think some of them might be over at Solidarity Park today, Jesse Noakes and the like—criticising the opening of Boorloo Bidee Mia. It is staggering to think that anyone would criticise the opening of a dedicated facility, which has a low-barrier entry. Anyone from the streets can go in and seek refuge at this place. It is designed and controlled by Aboriginal organisations. How anyone could think that was a bad thing is beyond me. I do not understand that. I think this is a good thing and I am very proud to be part of a government that has delivered it.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Liberal Party with the last question.