PUBLIC
HOUSING STOCK
256. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Housing:
I note that under the previous
Liberal–National government, 6 000 new social houses were constructed
between 2010 and 2016. Can the minister confirm exactly how many new social
houses his government has committed to over the next year and over this term?
Mr J.N.
CAREY replied:
I
thank the member for his question. As I stated in the debate yesterday, our
government is investing nearly $1 billion in a range of programs and projects
in both public and social housing, in the refurbishment of existing stock and
in homelessness initiatives. In fact, that refurbishment program is the
largest of its kind for Western Australia. We have
set a new 10-year strategy, which sets a six per cent increase for public
housing stock. But as I said in the debate yesterday, we face
significant challenges. We have inherited ageing stock, which requires
significant investment to lengthen its time
frame. But we also know—I was very frank yesterday in the debate—that
we are moving to an integrated model of public housing across a number of
suburbs. We are no longer doing the old structure, the old format, of
high-density social housing. That has required some difficult decisions to be
made, like the Brownlie Towers decision, but I stand by those decisions as they
are right for the future planning and development to get public housing across
the many suburbs in Western Australia.