❓ The Premier outlines the government's investment of $3.2 billion in housing and homelessness measures, including funding for 5,000 new social homes and incentives for vacant homes to enter the rental market, addressing housing affordability and availability challenges.
AnsweredQoN 261Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOUSING —
AFFORDABILITY
261. Ms M.J. HAMMAT to the Premier:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's investment to boost housing supply
and affordability across Western Australia.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house what measures this government is taking in the
next budget to deliver more social homes?
(2) Can the Premier advise the house of any new initiatives
to bring more rentals onto the market?
AFFORDABILITY
261. Ms M.J. HAMMAT to the Premier:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's investment to boost housing supply
and affordability across Western Australia.
(1) Can the
Premier outline to the house what measures this government is taking in the
next budget to deliver more social homes?
(2) Can the Premier advise the house of any new initiatives
to bring more rentals onto the market?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) We
know that certainly since the pandemic, we have seen the biggest single
disruption to our residential construction industry on record. Because of that,
we have seen significant pressure in relation to housing affordability and
availability today. In Western Australia, we have an enviable lifestyle and a nation-leading
economy that has also driven demand for homes. The fact is that right now, the
dream of getting a nice home feels out of reach for too many people. For this
reason, housing is a key pillar of this year's state budget. By building more homes, we can make housing more
affordable for everyone. We are putting this dream within reach of more
aspiring first home owners. At the same time, we are doing what we can to help
renters, and we are doing more to help people experiencing homelessness get a roof
over their heads and into permanent accommodation.
An
additional $843 million to be spent towards social and affordable housing and
homelessness will be included in this week's budget. The new
funding will bring our government's total investment in housing and
homelessness measures to $3.2 billion in this term of government alone. It
includes funding for 5 000 new social homes. Of those, 2 100 have already been completed,
with a further 1 000 currently under construction or under contract. As
inflation eases, the state government's big home building agenda is backed by private investment. We are now seeing
building approvals begin to rise again to bolster and sustain the home
building program. We are also funding more apprentices. We have budgeted more than $52 million to get more tradies into the
building and construction industry. That means that we are supporting
employers, helping apprentices to buy tools and boosting the capacity of our
training organisations. We cannot build more homes without more construction
workers. The great work we have done to inject more apprentices into the
industry means that we are really getting the show moving in relation to home
construction.
We today announced more great
policies, throwing everything at the issue of housing. This morning, we
announced a $5 000 incentive for owners of vacant homes to put them on the
long-term rental market. They have to offer a minimum 12-month lease and do so
by November this year. We will fund up to 1 000 vacant homes through the new
incentive scheme. The policy is based on our successful incentive scheme for
short-term accommodation in the rental market. In fact, 150 homes have now been
brought to the rental market as a result of
our short-term rental accommodation incentive scheme. That is a 7.5 per cent increase to the rental accommodation stock. Every bit counts.
My government is not afraid to think
outside the box when it comes to getting more people into good homes. We can
all do what we can to boost the housing stock, and we are doing everything that
we can. Unlike other state governments, we are not taxing people—we are
not punishing them—to put them in homes; we are providing incentives. We
can do this because we have kept the public finances strong and we are taking
the economy forward.
We are under pressure. We know that Western
Australia is the most attractive place for people to come to live. Last week, 94 000 people came to Western Australia.
We are finding them homes by growing our housing stock. Today's
announcement doubles down on our short-term rental accommodation incentive
scheme and really supercharges the creation of more rental housing stock to
make sure more Western Australians can get the rental accommodation they need.
know that certainly since the pandemic, we have seen the biggest single
disruption to our residential construction industry on record. Because of that,
we have seen significant pressure in relation to housing affordability and
availability today. In Western Australia, we have an enviable lifestyle and a nation-leading
economy that has also driven demand for homes. The fact is that right now, the
dream of getting a nice home feels out of reach for too many people. For this
reason, housing is a key pillar of this year's state budget. By building more homes, we can make housing more
affordable for everyone. We are putting this dream within reach of more
aspiring first home owners. At the same time, we are doing what we can to help
renters, and we are doing more to help people experiencing homelessness get a roof
over their heads and into permanent accommodation.
An
additional $843 million to be spent towards social and affordable housing and
homelessness will be included in this week's budget. The new
funding will bring our government's total investment in housing and
homelessness measures to $3.2 billion in this term of government alone. It
includes funding for 5 000 new social homes. Of those, 2 100 have already been completed,
with a further 1 000 currently under construction or under contract. As
inflation eases, the state government's big home building agenda is backed by private investment. We are now seeing
building approvals begin to rise again to bolster and sustain the home
building program. We are also funding more apprentices. We have budgeted more than $52 million to get more tradies into the
building and construction industry. That means that we are supporting
employers, helping apprentices to buy tools and boosting the capacity of our
training organisations. We cannot build more homes without more construction
workers. The great work we have done to inject more apprentices into the
industry means that we are really getting the show moving in relation to home
construction.
We today announced more great
policies, throwing everything at the issue of housing. This morning, we
announced a $5 000 incentive for owners of vacant homes to put them on the
long-term rental market. They have to offer a minimum 12-month lease and do so
by November this year. We will fund up to 1 000 vacant homes through the new
incentive scheme. The policy is based on our successful incentive scheme for
short-term accommodation in the rental market. In fact, 150 homes have now been
brought to the rental market as a result of
our short-term rental accommodation incentive scheme. That is a 7.5 per cent increase to the rental accommodation stock. Every bit counts.
My government is not afraid to think
outside the box when it comes to getting more people into good homes. We can
all do what we can to boost the housing stock, and we are doing everything that
we can. Unlike other state governments, we are not taxing people—we are
not punishing them—to put them in homes; we are providing incentives. We
can do this because we have kept the public finances strong and we are taking
the economy forward.
We are under pressure. We know that Western
Australia is the most attractive place for people to come to live. Last week, 94 000 people came to Western Australia.
We are finding them homes by growing our housing stock. Today's
announcement doubles down on our short-term rental accommodation incentive
scheme and really supercharges the creation of more rental housing stock to
make sure more Western Australians can get the rental accommodation they need.
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