HOMELESSNESS — CENTRE FOR NATIONAL RESILIENCE —
BULLSBROOK
859. Hon JAMES HAYWARD to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer to a report published in The
West Australian of Thursday, 6 October 2022, relating to a single mother
and her six-year-old son who slept in a ute for three months over winter.
(1) Does the Premier consider a car to be a more
appropriate location for homeless families than the Centre for National
Resilience in Bullsbrook?
(2) Can the
Premier detail exactly how the design of the Bullsbrook facility renders it
less appropriate than a car for providing short-term shelter for families with
young children?
(3) Would the
Premier consider allowing families without permanent accommodation to use the
Bullsbrook facility as a safe space to park their cars to sleep for the night?
(4) Why will the
government not use the Centre for National Resilience to address WA's
current housing and rental emergency?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
(1)–(4) Under
the agreement signed between the state and commonwealth governments, the
commonwealth government–owned Centre for National Resilience in
Bullsbrook is being maintained by the state government for a 12-month period
before operations are transferred to the commonwealth. As the Premier has
outlined on many occasions, including in a detailed statement to Parliament on
20 September 2022, the state government
considered other uses for the facility during its initial 12-month term,
including as temporary accommodation for interstate and international
skilled workers and for people at risk of becoming homeless. However, the
facility was found to be unsuitable for these uses, primarily due to its
isolated location, constraints around the design based on short-stay quarantine
and the lack of surrounding services and amenities. Any suggestions for
alternative uses of the facility should be directed to the commonwealth
government.