❓ Mr. Bolt questions the Minister for Housing and Works about housing deliverability issues due to utility connection delays and land supply shortages. The Minister's response avoids directly answering the questions, instead focusing on defending the government's housing record and attacking the opposition.
AnsweredQoN 502Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Housing—Approvals
502. Mr David Bolt to
the Minister for Housing and Works:
Hi! I am here. This
is where I usually sit, Speaker, in case anybody does not know where I am.
Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Housing—we should expect.
Minister, the public
is sick of hearing that projects are approved when they are not deliverable
because of a lack of water and power, and that the minister pulling every
lever, yet rates continue to rise and our homes are getting increasingly more
unaffordable.
(1) Will the minister admit that Western Power and
Water Corporation connection delays are now one of the single biggest
handbrakes on housing delivery, with thousands of lots approved on paper but
undeliverable in practice because utilities are not available on time?
(2) If this government is truly pulling every
lever, why, according to research for analysis presented at a recent Urban
Development Institute of Australia function, is there only two months' worth of
land supply remaining across active housing estates in the Perth metropolitan
area based on the current demand?
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
502. Mr David Bolt to
the Minister for Housing and Works:
Hi! I am here. This
is where I usually sit, Speaker, in case anybody does not know where I am.
Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Housing—we should expect.
Minister, the public
is sick of hearing that projects are approved when they are not deliverable
because of a lack of water and power, and that the minister pulling every
lever, yet rates continue to rise and our homes are getting increasingly more
unaffordable.
(1) Will the minister admit that Western Power and
Water Corporation connection delays are now one of the single biggest
handbrakes on housing delivery, with thousands of lots approved on paper but
undeliverable in practice because utilities are not available on time?
(2) If this government is truly pulling every
lever, why, according to research for analysis presented at a recent Urban
Development Institute of Australia function, is there only two months' worth of
land supply remaining across active housing estates in the Perth metropolitan
area based on the current demand?
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Mr
Speaker, I have been in Parliament now coming up to—what?—a
third term. For a member to get up and first of all say, "I'm here;
this is where I am", I want to say: we do see you, member. You are valued.
The leader might not be, but you are valued.
Can I say this: it is
quite extraordinary and as we know there is only one side of politics that is
actually doing anything on housing.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr John Carey: That is right. We have already got the
member for Cottesloe. She is a little bit rattled.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
Mr John Carey: She is rattled. She cannot help it.
Sandra "Glass jaw" Brewer.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Shane Love: Point of order.
The Speaker: No, I have got it.
Mr Shane Love: I think you know the point of
order.
The Speaker: Yes.
Withdrawal of remark
The Speaker: Minister, please withdraw that. You need
to refer to members as per their name.
Mr John Carey: I will withdraw that.
Questions without notice resumed
Mr John Carey: I was just reacting, Mr Speaker,
because I understand that whenever we mention housing and planning, the member
for Cottesloe gets very upset, because at every opportunity, before she was
elected, she desperately sought to stand next to us.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Cottesloe!
Mr John Carey: In fact, she would cry when she could
not get the opportunity to stand next to us on housing initiatives.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members, I am sure Hansard is finding it
very hard to capture this.
Mr John Carey: Well, someone poked the bear and they
are being ferocious today. I mean, it was an extraordinary outburst from the member
for Cottesloe.
Can I say there was
data today that showed that the number of new homes built in Western Australia
grew by 25.1% to 22,602 in the 2024–25 financial year, which is showing
the strongest growth in the nation: I repeat—the strongest growth in
the nation. The number of homes under construction rose to 23,063 by 30 June
this year. The number of dwellings commenced rose to six thousand—
Mr Adam Hort interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Kalamunda!
Mr John Carey: The number of dwellings commenced rose
to 6,088 for the June quarter—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr John Carey: —up 11.5%. That demonstrates that
Western Australia is recognised by a large number of advocacy bodies, including
the Housing Industry Association, and that Western Australia is out in front
leading on housing supply and delivery. Again, I want to
remind people about the last election. Those opposite said they were committed
to, for example, social housing delivery. Their policy commitment was this: we
are having what they are having. They committed to our expenditure and our
policies. They did not release anything in relation to social housing delivery.
They can talk all they want, but if members think it was important to them, we
would think that in four years—
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members of the opposition!
Mr John Carey: We would think that in four years, they
might come up with a housing policy. There is a sharp divide. Only one side of
politics is demonstrating delivery on housing, and it is the Cook Labor
government.
Speaker, I have been in Parliament now coming up to—what?—a
third term. For a member to get up and first of all say, "I'm here;
this is where I am", I want to say: we do see you, member. You are valued.
The leader might not be, but you are valued.
Can I say this: it is
quite extraordinary and as we know there is only one side of politics that is
actually doing anything on housing.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr John Carey: That is right. We have already got the
member for Cottesloe. She is a little bit rattled.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
Mr John Carey: She is rattled. She cannot help it.
Sandra "Glass jaw" Brewer.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr Shane Love: Point of order.
The Speaker: No, I have got it.
Mr Shane Love: I think you know the point of
order.
The Speaker: Yes.
Withdrawal of remark
The Speaker: Minister, please withdraw that. You need
to refer to members as per their name.
Mr John Carey: I will withdraw that.
Questions without notice resumed
Mr John Carey: I was just reacting, Mr Speaker,
because I understand that whenever we mention housing and planning, the member
for Cottesloe gets very upset, because at every opportunity, before she was
elected, she desperately sought to stand next to us.
Ms Sandra Brewer interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Cottesloe!
Mr John Carey: In fact, she would cry when she could
not get the opportunity to stand next to us on housing initiatives.
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members, I am sure Hansard is finding it
very hard to capture this.
Mr John Carey: Well, someone poked the bear and they
are being ferocious today. I mean, it was an extraordinary outburst from the member
for Cottesloe.
Can I say there was
data today that showed that the number of new homes built in Western Australia
grew by 25.1% to 22,602 in the 2024–25 financial year, which is showing
the strongest growth in the nation: I repeat—the strongest growth in
the nation. The number of homes under construction rose to 23,063 by 30 June
this year. The number of dwellings commenced rose to six thousand—
Mr Adam Hort interjected.
The Speaker: Member for Kalamunda!
Mr John Carey: The number of dwellings commenced rose
to 6,088 for the June quarter—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members!
Mr John Carey: —up 11.5%. That demonstrates that
Western Australia is recognised by a large number of advocacy bodies, including
the Housing Industry Association, and that Western Australia is out in front
leading on housing supply and delivery. Again, I want to
remind people about the last election. Those opposite said they were committed
to, for example, social housing delivery. Their policy commitment was this: we
are having what they are having. They committed to our expenditure and our
policies. They did not release anything in relation to social housing delivery.
They can talk all they want, but if members think it was important to them, we
would think that in four years—
Several members interjected.
The Speaker: Members of the opposition!
Mr John Carey: We would think that in four years, they
might come up with a housing policy. There is a sharp divide. Only one side of
politics is demonstrating delivery on housing, and it is the Cook Labor
government.
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