❓ Mr. Blayney questions the Minister for Housing about vacant public housing in Spalding, Geraldton, despite a long waitlist. The Minister explains the vacancies are due to maintenance, demolition plans, and a broader urban renewal program addressing past failures in public housing concentration.
AnsweredQoN 802Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GERALDTON — PUBLIC HOUSING
802. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the Geraldton Guardian article of 10 September 2019 headlined ''Uninhabitable
homes as 750 on waitlist'' that cites a significant number of
vacant public houses in the suburb of Spalding.
(1) Can the
minister please explain why there are 48 public houses vacant in Spalding when
over 750 individuals are on the public housing waitlist in the midwest?
(2) Can the
minister outline a time frame indicating when the three public housing
properties in Spalding that have been damaged by vandalism will be fixed; and,
if not, why not?
802. Mr I.C. BLAYNEY to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the Geraldton Guardian article of 10 September 2019 headlined ''Uninhabitable
homes as 750 on waitlist'' that cites a significant number of
vacant public houses in the suburb of Spalding.
(1) Can the
minister please explain why there are 48 public houses vacant in Spalding when
over 750 individuals are on the public housing waitlist in the midwest?
(2) Can the
minister outline a time frame indicating when the three public housing
properties in Spalding that have been damaged by vandalism will be fixed; and,
if not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) The
member's microphone was not on, so I will make some assumptions about
what he asked around Spalding and the state
of housing in the urban renewal program that we are seeking to undertake in
that area.
Mr I.C. Blayney : Can I give
the question to the minister?
Mr P.C. TINLEY : The member
will probably ask a supplementary question, so I am sure he will catch me if
there is something I do not mention. The member was talking about the 48
properties in Spalding. Communities like that in regional towns such as Withers
in Bunbury and Spencer Park in Albany are from a bygone era. In previous
iterations, we have concentrated public housing in a particular spot and, quite
frankly, it has been a failure. When coupled with the Radburn system of
cul-de-sacs, it created all sorts of problems. Bunbury is a very good example
of where that is a real challenge. We are working very much towards making sure
that those projects will be shovel ready once we have a reasonable surplus and
can devote some resources to them.
In answer to the member's
specific question, the 48 properties in Spalding are vacant for a number of
reasons. Members might be aware that there are some 44 000 dwellings across the
state, 36 363 of which are directly controlled by the public housing system,
representing some $14.5 billion worth of fixed assets. It takes a significant
amount of money to maintain that stock, which has an average age of 44 years.
It is some of the youngest stock of any jurisdiction in Australia, but nonetheless
needs significant continued maintenance to keep it up to speed, particularly
when we talk about recurrent revenue to the agency of only $1.6 billion from
rents et cetera.
The
Spalding precinct needed a specific plan. In coming to government, I was very
keen to make sure that that plan was progressed. We have worked closely with
the community and local government—the shire up there—to make
sure that we are attending to all the community views around how Spalding
should be both deconcentrated and then developed. Anybody who drives through
Spalding will see that a significant number of dwellings have been demolished
by both the previous government and the current government to ensure that we
are moving that plan forward
wherever we can. The nature and age of the stock in that area makes the
environment difficult and challenging.
Of
the 48 properties in Spalding, for the specific information of the member, four
are awaiting occupation; five are awaiting demolition beyond their
economic life; eight are under what is called non-standard maintenance work, which is a bit deeper; 15 are under maintenance
for the purpose of reletting, meaning they are waiting to be put back onto the
waitlist; and 16 are being reviewed for development or refurbishing. I am very
happy to say that the draft structure plan has gone to the City of Greater
Geraldton, setting out how we want to redevelop Spalding. We eagerly await
the market conditions to come good and then we can start moving, in sync with
the market, as we always do, to make sure that we are cross-subsidising the
model to ensure the best possible outcomes in a precinct sense.
member's microphone was not on, so I will make some assumptions about
what he asked around Spalding and the state
of housing in the urban renewal program that we are seeking to undertake in
that area.
Mr I.C. Blayney : Can I give
the question to the minister?
Mr P.C. TINLEY : The member
will probably ask a supplementary question, so I am sure he will catch me if
there is something I do not mention. The member was talking about the 48
properties in Spalding. Communities like that in regional towns such as Withers
in Bunbury and Spencer Park in Albany are from a bygone era. In previous
iterations, we have concentrated public housing in a particular spot and, quite
frankly, it has been a failure. When coupled with the Radburn system of
cul-de-sacs, it created all sorts of problems. Bunbury is a very good example
of where that is a real challenge. We are working very much towards making sure
that those projects will be shovel ready once we have a reasonable surplus and
can devote some resources to them.
In answer to the member's
specific question, the 48 properties in Spalding are vacant for a number of
reasons. Members might be aware that there are some 44 000 dwellings across the
state, 36 363 of which are directly controlled by the public housing system,
representing some $14.5 billion worth of fixed assets. It takes a significant
amount of money to maintain that stock, which has an average age of 44 years.
It is some of the youngest stock of any jurisdiction in Australia, but nonetheless
needs significant continued maintenance to keep it up to speed, particularly
when we talk about recurrent revenue to the agency of only $1.6 billion from
rents et cetera.
The
Spalding precinct needed a specific plan. In coming to government, I was very
keen to make sure that that plan was progressed. We have worked closely with
the community and local government—the shire up there—to make
sure that we are attending to all the community views around how Spalding
should be both deconcentrated and then developed. Anybody who drives through
Spalding will see that a significant number of dwellings have been demolished
by both the previous government and the current government to ensure that we
are moving that plan forward
wherever we can. The nature and age of the stock in that area makes the
environment difficult and challenging.
Of
the 48 properties in Spalding, for the specific information of the member, four
are awaiting occupation; five are awaiting demolition beyond their
economic life; eight are under what is called non-standard maintenance work, which is a bit deeper; 15 are under maintenance
for the purpose of reletting, meaning they are waiting to be put back onto the
waitlist; and 16 are being reviewed for development or refurbishing. I am very
happy to say that the draft structure plan has gone to the City of Greater
Geraldton, setting out how we want to redevelop Spalding. We eagerly await
the market conditions to come good and then we can start moving, in sync with
the market, as we always do, to make sure that we are cross-subsidising the
model to ensure the best possible outcomes in a precinct sense.
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