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.