PUBLIC HOUSING — NUMBER — CARNARVON
512. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Minister for Housing:
I refer to the ongoing housing
crisis and the minister's response provided in the Legislative Council
yesterday, which stated that 43 of the 308 public houses in Carnarvon are
vacant.
(1) Given that the statewide rental vacancy rate is
just over one per cent, is it acceptable to have nearly 15 per cent of
public housing properties vacant in Carnarvon?
(2) Does the
minister recognise that his failure to deliver the houses Carnarvon needs is
contributing to overcrowding and antisocial behaviour, impacting residents and
businesses on a daily basis?
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER: I can only
assume that the Minister for Transport is the acting Leader of the House.
Mr J.N.
CAREY replied:
I thank the member for his question.
(1)–(2) I
gave a very detailed answer in this place yesterday, and went through the large
number of reasons there may be vacant homes. It can be because the homes are in
the process of being re-tenanted. It can be because they are undergoing minor
refurbishment. It can be because they require major refurbishment. It can be
because we are waiting for a scope of works because the repairs needed are so
significant that an assessment has to be made. There are so many different
reasons homes are vacant. I note, as I have already said on the public record, that these numbers fluctuate. They fluctuate
over all governments. We have seen this occur under the previous
government. When we came to office at the end of the 2016–17 financial
year, 1 982 homes were vacant. The figures fluctuate based on the churn rate,
the need for refurbishment and the extent of refurbishment.
Yesterday, I also detailed the level
of investment that we are making in homes across the public system. It is significant. It is ongoing. It is
substantial. It involves both minor maintenance and major refurbishments.
It does not involve, as the opposition appears to suggest, just a lick of paint
or a bit of Spakfilla in a wall. Often, the homes require major refurbishment.
As we know, it depends on the availability of trades, the location and a multitude
of other reasons. I give the assurance to all Western Australians that we are
doing everything we can to bring social housing stock back into the system.
When we have 35 000 social houses in the system, a percentage will always be
vacant.