❓ Question regarding Warambie estate award for affordable housing in Karratha and further developments in the Pilbara. Minister outlines Warambie village details, UDIA award, and initiatives in Port Hedland, including hotel development and subsidised housing.
AnsweredQoN 457Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOUSING — WARAMBIE ESTATE, KARRATHA
457. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
The Warambie estate service workers' village in
Karratha recently won an award for its initiative to address affordable
housing. Can the minister outline the details of the award and further developments
in affordable accommodation in the Pilbara?
457. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
The Warambie estate service workers' village in
Karratha recently won an award for its initiative to address affordable
housing. Can the minister outline the details of the award and further developments
in affordable accommodation in the Pilbara?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for the question.
Mr T.G. Stephens :
Have you got that Hilton built yet?
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We
will get the Hilton built. We have done a pretty good job of attracting a hotel
chain such as Hilton Hotel and Resorts to come to the north west. Since the
member for Pilbara has been sitting on the opposition side, he has seen more
development in his electorate than any time during his 30 years in politics. He
will be very happy to know that we are soon to release an expression of
interest —
Mr T.G. Stephens :
You are going to build them in Hedland, too, are you?
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : We are. We are soon to seek expressions of interest in Hedland
from the major hoteliers of the world to build hotel accommodation in the
member for Pilbara's electorate because, as he will know, the cost of
hotel rooms there is high. It seems to me quite a good idea to attract name
hotel chains to the north west. Does the member for Pilbara support attracting
name hotel chains to the north west?
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : No; I did not think so.
I thank the member for North West
for his great interest in this issue. On coming to government we faced a major
challenge with rents in the north west; they have been too high for far too
long. One of the first decisions a Liberal–National government made was
for a whole new innovation in delivering housing options for people in the
small business and not-for-profit sectors. It was our policy initiative to
deliver on the Warambie village in partnership with the Department of Regional
Development and Lands, LandCorp and National Lifestyle Villages. Warambie
village has 100 units of accommodation, provides housing for up to 250 workers
and offers long-term tenancy opportunities with rents ranging from $350 to $500
a week. That allows small business and not-for-profit people to access
affordable living.
That project was deemed good by not just the government but
also the Urban Development Institute of Australia, which gave it a judge's
award in the affordable development category in this year's Urban
Development Institute of Australia awards, and we are very, very proud of that.
One hundred one, two and three-bedroom units were transported to Karratha and
put in place. There is a central park area there that has become one of the
most visited parks in Karratha. There is a real sense of community there where
the small businesses and the not-for-profits can come and socialise and
recreate. We are very excited about that project. As we move to Port Hedland to
do exactly the same thing, this award gives us great confidence that we are on
the right track. We know that rents in Port Hedland also are far too high. We
recently announced that Fleetwood is a proponent for a 293-unit village in
Hedland, where rents will be subsidised to keep them below $1 000 a week for
small business and the not-for-profit sector. But because the rents spiked in
Port Hedland, the Liberal–National government decided to do even more.
In partnership with the Department of Housing, under the Treasurer and the
Minister for Housing, we have put in place 125 homes; 45 existing homes are
ready to go now and 80 are being constructed as we speak. By Christmas there
should be 125 homes on the ground in Port Hedland with subsidised rent at less
than $1 000 a week for the small business sector.
Last week I was in Port Hedland to hand over the key to the
first business that had become eligible for that. It was Advanced Panel and
Paint from South Hedland, a family business with a couple of sons working in
the business. The business had grown and wanted to expand, but the cost of
housing was too much for it. They had someone working on a fly in, fly out
basis to provide panelbeating services. It was not working; that person was
going to quit. On the back of the government's initiative that family
is now moving to Port Hedland. The husband and wife and their young child are
moving to Port Hedland to work in that small business and reside in the town at
a subsidised rent.
How appropriate that this government, with a focus on the
Pilbara, has managed to come up with an innovation that was available to the
previous government to try to solve the problem, but it never did a thing. Let
us look at what is coming in Port Hedland: 293 units of accommodation in the
Fleetwood village and 125 houses—more than 400 units of subsidised
government accommodation will be available for the small business and
not-for-profit sectors in Port Hedland and South Hedland to help them get
through the tight spot. This project has gone so well that we are now looking
to roll out exactly the same project in Newman. The UDIA has said that Warambie
village is an award winner. We are doing it in South Hedland, we will do it in
Newman and we will make sure we support the small business and not-for-profit
sectors of the Pilbara as they deliver to the community by building small
businesses that are so important to the growth of that region.
Mr T.G. Stephens :
Have you got that Hilton built yet?
Mr B.J. GRYLLS : We
will get the Hilton built. We have done a pretty good job of attracting a hotel
chain such as Hilton Hotel and Resorts to come to the north west. Since the
member for Pilbara has been sitting on the opposition side, he has seen more
development in his electorate than any time during his 30 years in politics. He
will be very happy to know that we are soon to release an expression of
interest —
Mr T.G. Stephens :
You are going to build them in Hedland, too, are you?
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : We are. We are soon to seek expressions of interest in Hedland
from the major hoteliers of the world to build hotel accommodation in the
member for Pilbara's electorate because, as he will know, the cost of
hotel rooms there is high. It seems to me quite a good idea to attract name
hotel chains to the north west. Does the member for Pilbara support attracting
name hotel chains to the north west?
Several members interjected.
Mr
B.J. GRYLLS : No; I did not think so.
I thank the member for North West
for his great interest in this issue. On coming to government we faced a major
challenge with rents in the north west; they have been too high for far too
long. One of the first decisions a Liberal–National government made was
for a whole new innovation in delivering housing options for people in the
small business and not-for-profit sectors. It was our policy initiative to
deliver on the Warambie village in partnership with the Department of Regional
Development and Lands, LandCorp and National Lifestyle Villages. Warambie
village has 100 units of accommodation, provides housing for up to 250 workers
and offers long-term tenancy opportunities with rents ranging from $350 to $500
a week. That allows small business and not-for-profit people to access
affordable living.
That project was deemed good by not just the government but
also the Urban Development Institute of Australia, which gave it a judge's
award in the affordable development category in this year's Urban
Development Institute of Australia awards, and we are very, very proud of that.
One hundred one, two and three-bedroom units were transported to Karratha and
put in place. There is a central park area there that has become one of the
most visited parks in Karratha. There is a real sense of community there where
the small businesses and the not-for-profits can come and socialise and
recreate. We are very excited about that project. As we move to Port Hedland to
do exactly the same thing, this award gives us great confidence that we are on
the right track. We know that rents in Port Hedland also are far too high. We
recently announced that Fleetwood is a proponent for a 293-unit village in
Hedland, where rents will be subsidised to keep them below $1 000 a week for
small business and the not-for-profit sector. But because the rents spiked in
Port Hedland, the Liberal–National government decided to do even more.
In partnership with the Department of Housing, under the Treasurer and the
Minister for Housing, we have put in place 125 homes; 45 existing homes are
ready to go now and 80 are being constructed as we speak. By Christmas there
should be 125 homes on the ground in Port Hedland with subsidised rent at less
than $1 000 a week for the small business sector.
Last week I was in Port Hedland to hand over the key to the
first business that had become eligible for that. It was Advanced Panel and
Paint from South Hedland, a family business with a couple of sons working in
the business. The business had grown and wanted to expand, but the cost of
housing was too much for it. They had someone working on a fly in, fly out
basis to provide panelbeating services. It was not working; that person was
going to quit. On the back of the government's initiative that family
is now moving to Port Hedland. The husband and wife and their young child are
moving to Port Hedland to work in that small business and reside in the town at
a subsidised rent.
How appropriate that this government, with a focus on the
Pilbara, has managed to come up with an innovation that was available to the
previous government to try to solve the problem, but it never did a thing. Let
us look at what is coming in Port Hedland: 293 units of accommodation in the
Fleetwood village and 125 houses—more than 400 units of subsidised
government accommodation will be available for the small business and
not-for-profit sectors in Port Hedland and South Hedland to help them get
through the tight spot. This project has gone so well that we are now looking
to roll out exactly the same project in Newman. The UDIA has said that Warambie
village is an award winner. We are doing it in South Hedland, we will do it in
Newman and we will make sure we support the small business and not-for-profit
sectors of the Pilbara as they deliver to the community by building small
businesses that are so important to the growth of that region.
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