❓ Mr. Tallentire asks about the government's housing and planning reforms. The Minister outlines reforms aimed at increasing housing supply and choice, criticising the opposition's inconsistent stance.
AnsweredQoN 89Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PLANNING REFORM
89. Mr C.J. TALLENTIRE to the Minister for Planning:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's efforts to make Western Australia a vibrant and connected
place to live and work.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government is creating new opportunities
for housing, including through housing and planning reforms?
(2) Is the
minister aware of anyone who is opposed to Western Australians of all ages
staying in their communities as their housing needs change?
The SPEAKER : Minister, before I give you the call, can
I say that I am glad we had a group of students in the public gallery for those
first couple of questions. Welcome to Parliament House. I hope you enjoy your
tour.
89. Mr C.J. TALLENTIRE to the Minister for Planning:
I refer to the McGowan Labor
government's efforts to make Western Australia a vibrant and connected
place to live and work.
(1) Can the
minister outline to the house how this government is creating new opportunities
for housing, including through housing and planning reforms?
(2) Is the
minister aware of anyone who is opposed to Western Australians of all ages
staying in their communities as their housing needs change?
The SPEAKER : Minister, before I give you the call, can
I say that I am glad we had a group of students in the public gallery for those
first couple of questions. Welcome to Parliament House. I hope you enjoy your
tour.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for Thornlie for his question.
(1)–(2) Yesterday,
the government announced a range of reforms to its planning system to make it
easier to buy a house, to live in a house and to rent a house in Western Australia.
There is enormous demand throughout regional WA for affordable workers'
accommodation. In many instances the land developers in those areas are local
councils. Part of the reforms we announced yesterday include a new fund to help
support infrastructure provision for new housing throughout regional WA. We
know that we simply need more housing, more housing choice and a diversity of
housing in WA. We cannot continue to just build the four by twos. We need
two-bedroom apartments and one-bedroom apartments. We need a range of
accommodation because there are a lot of people out there who are single or
separated and who need housing choice. If we do not provide housing choice, we
will not be providing the housing supply for future generations.
Examples of our reforms include an
infrastructure fund, as I said, to help support infill development and regional
accommodation, and the implementation of a permanent special pathway for major
projects. Today we also announced the new medium-density housing code. It is
the first time we have released the new rules of how medium density should be
rolled out across the suburbs and across the state. We do not want to see the
wholesale subdivision of suburbs that occurred under the previous government.
It basically subdivided every street in a suburb and called that reform. We
want precincts of activity, precincts of density, locked in near train stations
and activity centres. With that, we will get better amenity, better public open
space, more tree canopy, and better and more sustainable living for our future
populations.
I was disappointed, but not
surprised, to hear the views of the Liberal Party and Nationals WA yesterday.
They were all over the place. From the old party of the free market, members
have abandoned the traditional Liberal Party that used to exist in this state.
I turn first to the Liberal member Mr Steve Martin, who said that the infrastructure fund would do nothing to help solve the
housing process. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition was out there
welcoming our announcement, saying it was copying the announcement they made
more recently. Within one day this alliance was eating each other up. They do
not know whether to welcome something or oppose something. The Leader of the
National Party and Leader of the Opposition basically said, ''This is
good. It copies our policy, but we would have been spending a billion dollars.''
Today he comes in and asks why are we spending any money. He came in yesterday
and said, ''We would have spent a billion dollars.'' I will give
him a hint: he was there for eight years with $8 billion of royalties for
regions and he did not do it.
We then had the predictable comments
from the former Leader of the Liberal Party. He made outrageous accusations. On
one day, the Liberal Party comes in and says, ''We need more housing.
What are you doing to get more housing?'' We say, ''Here it is;
here is what we are doing to get more housing.'' And it says, ''Oh,
how dare you do anything to get more housing!'' Who do members opposite
think is going to build the housing in WA?
We had another outrageous comment,
again from Mr Steve Martin, who said that the outer suburbs had been ignored in
our announcement. I give the member a hint: we announced the headworks fund to
help fuel Metronet precincts. There are a lot
of Metronet stations in the outer suburbs, I will say, such as Yanchep ,
Alkimos, Ellenbrook and Byford—all over the place. The opposition
cannot come in here and ask any questions about housing. It opposes everything
this government is doing to increase housing supply. It opposes everything we
are doing to make sure that there are affordable homes for people to live in,
not just for today, but for generations to come. We have a responsibility to
think not just about ourselves, but about
our children and our children's children. Older people who want to
downsize currently have to move out
of their suburbs into a new area—disconnected from their friends,
disconnected from their well-known shopping
centre and disconnected from their medical facilities—because there is
no supply. The big demand here is for us to increase supply. We are very
proud of all the innovative initiatives we have to increase housing supply in
this state.
The
SPEAKER : I just note that members
of the other house, the upper house, are referred to by the title ''Honourable'' and then their name, as opposed to Mr or Ms or some other title.
member for Thornlie for his question.
(1)–(2) Yesterday,
the government announced a range of reforms to its planning system to make it
easier to buy a house, to live in a house and to rent a house in Western Australia.
There is enormous demand throughout regional WA for affordable workers'
accommodation. In many instances the land developers in those areas are local
councils. Part of the reforms we announced yesterday include a new fund to help
support infrastructure provision for new housing throughout regional WA. We
know that we simply need more housing, more housing choice and a diversity of
housing in WA. We cannot continue to just build the four by twos. We need
two-bedroom apartments and one-bedroom apartments. We need a range of
accommodation because there are a lot of people out there who are single or
separated and who need housing choice. If we do not provide housing choice, we
will not be providing the housing supply for future generations.
Examples of our reforms include an
infrastructure fund, as I said, to help support infill development and regional
accommodation, and the implementation of a permanent special pathway for major
projects. Today we also announced the new medium-density housing code. It is
the first time we have released the new rules of how medium density should be
rolled out across the suburbs and across the state. We do not want to see the
wholesale subdivision of suburbs that occurred under the previous government.
It basically subdivided every street in a suburb and called that reform. We
want precincts of activity, precincts of density, locked in near train stations
and activity centres. With that, we will get better amenity, better public open
space, more tree canopy, and better and more sustainable living for our future
populations.
I was disappointed, but not
surprised, to hear the views of the Liberal Party and Nationals WA yesterday.
They were all over the place. From the old party of the free market, members
have abandoned the traditional Liberal Party that used to exist in this state.
I turn first to the Liberal member Mr Steve Martin, who said that the infrastructure fund would do nothing to help solve the
housing process. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition was out there
welcoming our announcement, saying it was copying the announcement they made
more recently. Within one day this alliance was eating each other up. They do
not know whether to welcome something or oppose something. The Leader of the
National Party and Leader of the Opposition basically said, ''This is
good. It copies our policy, but we would have been spending a billion dollars.''
Today he comes in and asks why are we spending any money. He came in yesterday
and said, ''We would have spent a billion dollars.'' I will give
him a hint: he was there for eight years with $8 billion of royalties for
regions and he did not do it.
We then had the predictable comments
from the former Leader of the Liberal Party. He made outrageous accusations. On
one day, the Liberal Party comes in and says, ''We need more housing.
What are you doing to get more housing?'' We say, ''Here it is;
here is what we are doing to get more housing.'' And it says, ''Oh,
how dare you do anything to get more housing!'' Who do members opposite
think is going to build the housing in WA?
We had another outrageous comment,
again from Mr Steve Martin, who said that the outer suburbs had been ignored in
our announcement. I give the member a hint: we announced the headworks fund to
help fuel Metronet precincts. There are a lot
of Metronet stations in the outer suburbs, I will say, such as Yanchep ,
Alkimos, Ellenbrook and Byford—all over the place. The opposition
cannot come in here and ask any questions about housing. It opposes everything
this government is doing to increase housing supply. It opposes everything we
are doing to make sure that there are affordable homes for people to live in,
not just for today, but for generations to come. We have a responsibility to
think not just about ourselves, but about
our children and our children's children. Older people who want to
downsize currently have to move out
of their suburbs into a new area—disconnected from their friends,
disconnected from their well-known shopping
centre and disconnected from their medical facilities—because there is
no supply. The big demand here is for us to increase supply. We are very
proud of all the innovative initiatives we have to increase housing supply in
this state.
The
SPEAKER : I just note that members
of the other house, the upper house, are referred to by the title ''Honourable'' and then their name, as opposed to Mr or Ms or some other title.
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