❓ Mr. Price asks the Minister for Housing about the progress and impact of the government's $319 million social housing economic recovery package. The Minister provides an update on new builds, refurbishments, and the support for local jobs and businesses, particularly in regional areas.
AnsweredQoN 754Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
SOCIAL HOUSING ECONOMIC RECOVERY PACKAGE
754. MR
S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's efforts to drive economic
activity in WA through its massive investment in supporting our building
and construction sectors.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the work underway to build new homes or refurbish
existing housing as part of the government's $319 million social
housing economic recovery package?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how this investment is supporting local jobs and
local businesses?
SOCIAL HOUSING ECONOMIC RECOVERY PACKAGE
754. MR
S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's efforts to drive economic
activity in WA through its massive investment in supporting our building
and construction sectors.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on the work underway to build new homes or refurbish
existing housing as part of the government's $319 million social
housing economic recovery package?
(2) Can the
minister outline to the house how this investment is supporting local jobs and
local businesses?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question
and for his enduring interest in the construction industry and in jobs.
(1)–(2) I
am very happy to talk about the social housing economic recovery—SHER—package
that was designed by the McGowan government to save jobs in the residential
construction industry. There is nothing a government can do faster than get on
with building social houses. As I said before, I am happy to report that I have
brought back to the chamber a progress report about how that $319 million
program has been progressing. We currently have 99 new builds of the 250 that
were identified; we have allocated 48 to the metro area and 51 to the regional
area. The first of those builds will occur at the beginning of next month, so I
am very happy to see that trades from the design end right through to the
construction and occupation end of the
housing continuum are getting underway in both the metro and regional areas.
That $319 million is also going
towards regional maintenance that will do a deep refurbishment and upgrade some
1 500 public dwellings, which will give us another 20-plus years out of
those assets.
Picking up from where the Treasurer
left off about where the Nationals WA sits in relation to its ambition to
support regional jobs, I am happy to say that this government is not a threat
to regional jobs or regional businesses. I have directed the agencies to ensure
that we are actually delivering in the regions for regional businesses, to ensure that local people in local
towns in those regions have the opportunity—as we do in the metro—to have a meaningful job—to go to work, to help sustain
themselves and their families throughout their whole life.
To date, for 175 properties, we have
spent $1.498 484 million in regional maintenance works, which were awarded to
23 contractors—all of which are local trades. By way of example, so
that members can understand the nature and
depth of how seriously we take regional businesses and regional Western Australians and the support we want to give to those trades in the regions, we have spent
$170 000 for internal painting of 14 properties in Broome, $197 000 for
external painting of 33 properties in Esperance, and $103 000 for internal
painting of eight properties in Albany. These are the sorts of commitments that
employ Western Australians that the McGowan government is making at the
enterprise level. I am also happy to say that the first refurbishment contract
under the social housing economic recovery package was awarded earlier this
month to two properties in Karratha. In that contract alone there was some $600
000-plus for a company called Karratha Contracting, which is a local company
that has never done business with the Department of Communities before. It has
taken on an apprentice, an Aboriginal trainee and an additional tradesman to
undertake some of that work. That is the sort of commitment that comes from a government
that is very serious about directly supporting jobs and ensuring the
sustainability of industry. When we come out of this pandemic—and we
will—we will have an economy that has momentum and will deliver for Western
Australians.
and for his enduring interest in the construction industry and in jobs.
(1)–(2) I
am very happy to talk about the social housing economic recovery—SHER—package
that was designed by the McGowan government to save jobs in the residential
construction industry. There is nothing a government can do faster than get on
with building social houses. As I said before, I am happy to report that I have
brought back to the chamber a progress report about how that $319 million
program has been progressing. We currently have 99 new builds of the 250 that
were identified; we have allocated 48 to the metro area and 51 to the regional
area. The first of those builds will occur at the beginning of next month, so I
am very happy to see that trades from the design end right through to the
construction and occupation end of the
housing continuum are getting underway in both the metro and regional areas.
That $319 million is also going
towards regional maintenance that will do a deep refurbishment and upgrade some
1 500 public dwellings, which will give us another 20-plus years out of
those assets.
Picking up from where the Treasurer
left off about where the Nationals WA sits in relation to its ambition to
support regional jobs, I am happy to say that this government is not a threat
to regional jobs or regional businesses. I have directed the agencies to ensure
that we are actually delivering in the regions for regional businesses, to ensure that local people in local
towns in those regions have the opportunity—as we do in the metro—to have a meaningful job—to go to work, to help sustain
themselves and their families throughout their whole life.
To date, for 175 properties, we have
spent $1.498 484 million in regional maintenance works, which were awarded to
23 contractors—all of which are local trades. By way of example, so
that members can understand the nature and
depth of how seriously we take regional businesses and regional Western Australians and the support we want to give to those trades in the regions, we have spent
$170 000 for internal painting of 14 properties in Broome, $197 000 for
external painting of 33 properties in Esperance, and $103 000 for internal
painting of eight properties in Albany. These are the sorts of commitments that
employ Western Australians that the McGowan government is making at the
enterprise level. I am also happy to say that the first refurbishment contract
under the social housing economic recovery package was awarded earlier this
month to two properties in Karratha. In that contract alone there was some $600
000-plus for a company called Karratha Contracting, which is a local company
that has never done business with the Department of Communities before. It has
taken on an apprentice, an Aboriginal trainee and an additional tradesman to
undertake some of that work. That is the sort of commitment that comes from a government
that is very serious about directly supporting jobs and ensuring the
sustainability of industry. When we come out of this pandemic—and we
will—we will have an economy that has momentum and will deliver for Western
Australians.
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