CYCLONE SEROJA —
TEMPORARY HOUSING — CARAVANS
368. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Emergency Services:
I refer to the minister's
announcement of 11 caravans to be supplied to people seeking emergency and
temporary accommodation in the midwest as a result of the devastation of
cyclone Seroja.
(1) Is the
minister aware that five of those 11 caravans appear to have not been allocated
to families in need and are currently parked at the Geraldton State Emergency
Services headquarters? Here is a picture of them in all their glory; they do
not seem to have left the yard.
(2) How is this
excusable when the minister announced this measure back on 21 July, which was
already weeks late?
Mr R.R.
WHITBY replied:
(1)–(2) I
thank the member for the question. The provision of caravans was part of a response
to a request from the community directly. We
consulted some—indeed, all—of the 16 local governments affected
by cyclone Seroja. There was feedback from communities through local
councils and local community outreach. The member should be reminded that a range
of accommodation was offered to, given to and taken by people impacted by the
cyclone.
It is not that all people wanted a caravan—indeed,
some people were provided with accommodation in towns like Geraldton, some
people had other sources of accommodation and other people made other
arrangements. The number of caravans provided was as a result of direct contact
with the community. Those caravans were taken to Geraldton, where they are
being made good. The member would know that if he were to try to buy a caravan
in Western Australia today, he would not get one. If he wanted to order a new
one, it would take at least six months to get it. These caravans are second
hand and were provided on the basis that they could be provided quickly to the
people who needed them.
There
are some issues with the caravans in terms of licensing—they have to be
licensed. But for those people who will get those caravans, they are the
right fix, because some people want to stay in their community in Northampton
and some want to be on properties that were destroyed—they want to be
close to animals and close to communities.
The response we have provided for accommodation has been varied and bespoke
according to need. The need, based on what the community told us, in terms of a
small number of people, was the provision of caravans. They are being provided.
I cannot give the exact reason why those caravans are there at the moment in
Geraldton, but they are in the region ready to go. Obviously, most of those
caravans have now been provided to the people who needed them. If it is an
issue of putting a registration on a caravan and getting it on site, then that
can be done quite quickly.