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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 514 asked in the Legislative Council on 17 August 2021 by Hon Dr Brian Walker

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

HOMELESSNESS — INDIGO JUNCTION SERVICES

514. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Community Services:

I refer the minister to the recent ABC report, published online on Sunday, 8 August 2021, entitled ''Homeless support services in Perth suburb at breaking point with vulnerable people turned away'', the substance of which revolves around claims that the Indigo Junction group of drop-in centres, including one in Midland, have had to turn away 6 000 families and more than 500 young people in need in the past year.

(1) Has the minister visited any of the Indigo Junction facilities since taking over his current housing portfolio in March this year; and, if not, as a matter of urgency, will he join me for a tour of the Midland facility that featured in the article?

(2) What is the minister's reaction to claims by the chief executive of the Youth Affairs Council of WA that it is, and I quote, ''at 'breaking point' because of limited funding and resources''?

(3) Why was the government's response to push responsibility back onto local councils when this is clearly a state government issue, requiring a whole-of-government response?

Hon SAMANTHA ROWE replied:

I thank the member for some notice of the question and provide the following answer on behalf of the Minister for Community Services.

(1) I have visited a number of homelessness services across Western Australia since taking over the Community Services portfolio, including representatives from Indigo Junction, with the City of Swan, as well as with the CEO in my ministerial office.

In 2020–21, the McGowan government spent $143.4 million on homelessness services, including family and domestic violence prevention services that seek to minimise incidents of homelessness and provide crisis accommodation. This is an increase of $33.8 million—31 per cent—on 2019–20, and reflects the government's intent to provide additional support to vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(2) I regularly meet service providers, as well as peak organisations in the community sector, to understand the challenges facing them in their work. The Department of Communities monitors demand in the homelessness and domestic violence service system to ensure that we are best meeting community needs.

(3) During my term, I have met with a number of local governments that have put forward proposals to address homelessness in their community. The $6 million local government partnership fund, which provides matched state government funding for new tailored initiatives was formulated in response to those local governments that wish to progress such proposals. There is no obligation for local governments to participate in the partnership.