❓ Mr. Logan questions the Minister for Housing about funding and tenant responsibility for RCD installation in Homeswest properties, citing previous allocations, delays, and safety concerns. The Minister defends the program, citing maintenance costs and fairness in rental increases.
AnsweredQoN 373Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOMESWEST —
RESIDUAL-CURRENT DEVICE INSTALLATION
373. Mr F.M. LOGAN to the Minister for Housing:
I draw the minister's
attention to the statement by the Treasurer last Thursday that the $26 million
allocated to the residual current device installation program would be recouped
from Homeswest tenants.
(1) Why are
Homeswest tenants being asked to pay for the installation of RCDs when legally
this is the responsibility of the owner of the properties—namely, the
government?
(2) Why is a
further $26 million required for the RCD program when it was given $7.6 million
in 2005, and then another top-up in 2008?
(3) Why, nine
years after its inception, the death of a child in Roebourne in 2009, and a
scathing report on the RCD rollout by the Auditor General in 2010, has this
program not been completed?
RESIDUAL-CURRENT DEVICE INSTALLATION
373. Mr F.M. LOGAN to the Minister for Housing:
I draw the minister's
attention to the statement by the Treasurer last Thursday that the $26 million
allocated to the residual current device installation program would be recouped
from Homeswest tenants.
(1) Why are
Homeswest tenants being asked to pay for the installation of RCDs when legally
this is the responsibility of the owner of the properties—namely, the
government?
(2) Why is a
further $26 million required for the RCD program when it was given $7.6 million
in 2005, and then another top-up in 2008?
(3) Why, nine
years after its inception, the death of a child in Roebourne in 2009, and a
scathing report on the RCD rollout by the Auditor General in 2010, has this
program not been completed?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Cockburn for
the question.
(1)–(3) The
member for Cockburn raises two separate issues: one is the issue of safety and
one is the issue of fairness in public housing. On the first issue, as the
member is aware, as Minister for Housing, I look after about 36 000 houses. The
Auditor General reported on the safety of houses and the residual current
devices. The $7 million provided way back in 2007 was not enough to do the
whole program. As the member knows, we needed to add more to that. This amount
of money is not just for installing RCDs; it is for three things, including the
ongoing maintenance and inspection by proper licensed electricians. It costs
money to get an electrician to look after the RCDs. We cannot put RCDs in
houses and then forget about them; they need to be maintained and their working
order verified, and electricians have to do that, and that costs money. The
money is not only for RCDs but also smoke alarms and to check the earthing. It
is important that the electrical work in our houses is earthed. A range of
things is involved. The cost of maintaining the RCDs is another expense on top
of the annual amount of $100 million to maintain the houses and that will
continue into the future. That is what that money is for.
The other part of the question was
about the increase in rentals. The rental increase was very minimal. We make
sure that the rents are below 25 per cent of people's gross income.
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : I am finishing my answer. Housing rentals will always be
below 25 per cent of gross income. In increasing rents by a very small amount
we will be bringing them in line with public housing rentals in all the other
states in Australia. The percentage of rents people pay in Western Australia is
still the lowest in Australia.
the question.
(1)–(3) The
member for Cockburn raises two separate issues: one is the issue of safety and
one is the issue of fairness in public housing. On the first issue, as the
member is aware, as Minister for Housing, I look after about 36 000 houses. The
Auditor General reported on the safety of houses and the residual current
devices. The $7 million provided way back in 2007 was not enough to do the
whole program. As the member knows, we needed to add more to that. This amount
of money is not just for installing RCDs; it is for three things, including the
ongoing maintenance and inspection by proper licensed electricians. It costs
money to get an electrician to look after the RCDs. We cannot put RCDs in
houses and then forget about them; they need to be maintained and their working
order verified, and electricians have to do that, and that costs money. The
money is not only for RCDs but also smoke alarms and to check the earthing. It
is important that the electrical work in our houses is earthed. A range of
things is involved. The cost of maintaining the RCDs is another expense on top
of the annual amount of $100 million to maintain the houses and that will
continue into the future. That is what that money is for.
The other part of the question was
about the increase in rentals. The rental increase was very minimal. We make
sure that the rents are below 25 per cent of people's gross income.
Mr
F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr
W.R. MARMION : I am finishing my answer. Housing rentals will always be
below 25 per cent of gross income. In increasing rents by a very small amount
we will be bringing them in line with public housing rentals in all the other
states in Australia. The percentage of rents people pay in Western Australia is
still the lowest in Australia.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.