❓ Question regarding the government's approach to drug dealing in public housing, and the Minister's response outlining measures to terminate tenancies in such cases and potential legislative changes.
AnsweredQoN 893Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC HOUSING — TENANT BEHAVIOUR —
DRUG DEALING
893. Mr C.D. HATTON to the Minister for
Housing:
Mr Speaker —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Wanneroo, I call you to order for the first time. I
advise you not to shout out any further.
Mr
C.D. HATTON : My question relates to illegal drug use in public housing. I
recently saw some media coverage about the Liberal–National government
taking a tough approach towards drug dealing in public housing, another
important social issue. Can the Minister for Housing please update the house on
this matter?
DRUG DEALING
893. Mr C.D. HATTON to the Minister for
Housing:
Mr Speaker —
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Wanneroo, I call you to order for the first time. I
advise you not to shout out any further.
Mr
C.D. HATTON : My question relates to illegal drug use in public housing. I
recently saw some media coverage about the Liberal–National government
taking a tough approach towards drug dealing in public housing, another
important social issue. Can the Minister for Housing please update the house on
this matter?
AnswerView source ↗
I have great delight in updating the
house, and I thank the member for Balcatta for the question. I am accountable
for about 40 000 social houses in Western Australia, and it costs about $400 million
of taxpayers' money to look after those houses, so we will not tolerate
drug dealing from Department of Housing houses. I have been frustrated of late
with the failure of some terminations that we have tried to run through the
courts, whereby we have not been successful, and the excuse has been that the
tenant did not know that drug dealing was being undertaken from their house. So
we have strengthened our illegal use of premises policy to make sure that
tenants, when they get a Department of Housing house, know that they also are
responsible for other householders and visitors in that house.
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : If there is a conviction for intent to supply or sell, we
will move to terminate the tenancy. Obviously, that is only a move to terminate
the tenancy; it is then still up to the magistrate to make that decision. If a
tenant can produce evidence that they were not aware of that illegal activity
being undertaken in their house, I am sure the magistrate—in fact, if
we knew that beforehand, we would not take it to the magistrate—would
take that into account. In some situations, even if we have not got a
conviction, such as for running a drug lab, we will still move to the courts to
seek termination of the tenancy if someone has been running a drug lab in their
Department of Housing house.
That is the process. The message is
only to a small minority of tenants. The vast majority of tenants—I
must let everyone know—do look after their house. So, this is a message
to the minority of tenants. If people are lucky enough and privileged enough to
get a set of Department of Housing keys, we expect them to be responsible for
how they manage that house—pay the rent, look after the property and
get on with their neighbours. In case it transpires that this policy is not
successful through the courts, we will be keeping an eye on the situation in
New South Wales, where a convicted drug dealer did not lose their tenancy in
the New South Wales court, and the New South Wales government is looking at
amending the New South Wales Residential Tenancies Act to possibly put in some
legislation to make sure that that is confirmed as part of the legislation. We
will be keeping an eye on that. But I just remind tenants that all they have to
do, for the privilege of having a Department of Housing house, is pay the rent,
look after the house and get on with their neighbours.
house, and I thank the member for Balcatta for the question. I am accountable
for about 40 000 social houses in Western Australia, and it costs about $400 million
of taxpayers' money to look after those houses, so we will not tolerate
drug dealing from Department of Housing houses. I have been frustrated of late
with the failure of some terminations that we have tried to run through the
courts, whereby we have not been successful, and the excuse has been that the
tenant did not know that drug dealing was being undertaken from their house. So
we have strengthened our illegal use of premises policy to make sure that
tenants, when they get a Department of Housing house, know that they also are
responsible for other householders and visitors in that house.
Mr
D.J. Kelly interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Bassendean, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : If there is a conviction for intent to supply or sell, we
will move to terminate the tenancy. Obviously, that is only a move to terminate
the tenancy; it is then still up to the magistrate to make that decision. If a
tenant can produce evidence that they were not aware of that illegal activity
being undertaken in their house, I am sure the magistrate—in fact, if
we knew that beforehand, we would not take it to the magistrate—would
take that into account. In some situations, even if we have not got a
conviction, such as for running a drug lab, we will still move to the courts to
seek termination of the tenancy if someone has been running a drug lab in their
Department of Housing house.
That is the process. The message is
only to a small minority of tenants. The vast majority of tenants—I
must let everyone know—do look after their house. So, this is a message
to the minority of tenants. If people are lucky enough and privileged enough to
get a set of Department of Housing keys, we expect them to be responsible for
how they manage that house—pay the rent, look after the property and
get on with their neighbours. In case it transpires that this policy is not
successful through the courts, we will be keeping an eye on the situation in
New South Wales, where a convicted drug dealer did not lose their tenancy in
the New South Wales court, and the New South Wales government is looking at
amending the New South Wales Residential Tenancies Act to possibly put in some
legislation to make sure that that is confirmed as part of the legislation. We
will be keeping an eye on that. But I just remind tenants that all they have to
do, for the privilege of having a Department of Housing house, is pay the rent,
look after the house and get on with their neighbours.
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