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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 501 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 16 August 2022 by Mr P.J. Rundle

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

PUBLIC HOUSING — NUMBER

501. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Housing:

I refer to the minister's answer to question without notice C736, which identifies 1 909 public houses that are currently vacant.

(1) Can the minister detail how many of these properties are returning and how many are non-returning?

(2) What is the time line for those returning properties to be once again occupied?

Mr J.N. CAREY replied:

(1)–(2) I thank the member for his question. I actually relish and appreciate this question so that I can put on the public record, once and for all, the number of vacancies in the public housing system. First, I want to put on record how much we spent last year. We spent $200 million on maintenance across all programs in the last financial year, including 2 500 homes through the social housing economic recovery package. We also spent over $40 million through the SHERP and housing and homelessness investment package programs on over 500 refurbishments. I make it very clear that there is significant and ongoing investment in our social housing stock.

The second element is about vacancies. The opposition has sought to make some political gain from this, but there will always be vacancies in the social housing system. Members have to remember that we have 35 000 public houses and that at any one time there will be vacant homes; it fluctuates. The returning homes, of which there are 1 505, are returning homes for a number of different reasons. They are homes recently vacated that are waiting to be re-tenanted, homes recently vacated and awaiting minor refurbishment, homes undergoing minor or major refurbishment, and we also have spot-purchase homes that we have to refurbish before making them available to tenants. That is around 1 500, which makes sense when we consider that we have 35 000 houses in the system. The number of homes not returning is 422. These homes may be beyond repair or refurbishment. They are so substantially damaged that we cannot bring them back into the system. There are also projects like those at Beaconsfield and Subi East that are long-term renewals, and that takes time because we have to transition people out of them over a period of time, and so the houses remain vacant. Of course, there are other circumstances in which we cannot allow tenants to go back in. For example, the member would be aware that in Tambellup there was a horrific crime and the community has asked us not to re-tenant that home.

I want to say this: when we came to government at the end of the 2016–17 financial year, there were 1 982 vacant homes, which is higher than the current status. The figure goes up and down; it fluctuates. Clearly, the timing of when those 1 500 homes come back online is due to a number of factors. It depends on the location, the availability of trades and on the extent of the refurbishment. I want to be clear that despite what the opposition seems to be peddling, it is not a matter of giving the homes a lick of paint and Spakfilla. Many of these homes require significant investment and refurbishment. As the minister, I brought in a reform that said if only minor repairs were required, like Spakfilla or painting, we could get the residents in first and do those works afterward.

Lastly, as the minister I also looked at vacant properties in the Government Regional Officers' Housing system that were surplus to needs. As a result of that review, to date, 39 homes have transferred to social housing. I understand that the opposition is desperate to make political gain on this, but if it looks at the facts and clearly at the data, it will see that it is always fluctuating and that the figures were higher at the end of the term of the former government.

Visitors — Sue Pertile, Rosemary Donovan and Linda Tinning

The SPEAKER: Just before I take the supplementary, I meant to acknowledge earlier the guests of the member for Carine in the Speaker's gallery this afternoon from the Zonta Club of Perth Northern Suburbs, the club president, Sue Pertile; vice-president, Rosemary Donovan; and Linda Tinning, the chair of the public relations and communications committee. Welcome to Parliament today. You are very welcome.