❓ The Minister for Housing outlines how the government's $2.6 billion investment is supporting vulnerable Western Australians, highlighting social housing delivery, the Housing First approach, and criticising the City of Perth's handling of the Safe Night Space for Women.
AnsweredQoN 905Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS
SERVICES
905. Dr K. STRATTON to the Minister for Housing:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's record $2.6 billion investment in housing and homelessness
services. Can the minister outline to the house how this record investment is
supporting vulnerable Western Australians across our state to secure housing?
SERVICES
905. Dr K. STRATTON to the Minister for Housing:
I refer to the Cook Labor
government's record $2.6 billion investment in housing and homelessness
services. Can the minister outline to the house how this record investment is
supporting vulnerable Western Australians across our state to secure housing?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Nedlands for
her strong commitment to assisting the most vulnerable in Western Australia. We
know that COVID has radically reshaped our housing markets and rental markets.
Members have seen from our government a range of announcements by the Premier
only recently with regard to rental relief and short-term rental reform, but we
are continuing to deliver our social housing agenda. To date, despite the
toughest construction market, we have delivered just over 1 700 social homes
with more than 1 000 under contract or construction.
Another
part of the story that gets less attention is our work in the homelessness
sector. I am deeply proud of the sector's leadership and work and our partnership with it to
assist the most vulnerable. I want to go through it because we are strongly committed to the Housing First
Homelessness Initiative approach, which at its heart is about providing people with a roof and a home, but also the
intensive wraparound support services to sustain their tenancy. Boorloo Bidee
Mia has been an outstanding success that was launched by the previous Minister
for Community Services. The former Murray
Street hotel that we purchased I am pleased to say demonstrates thinking
outside the box. Koort Boodja is now almost at capacity with 24
residents who had previously been rough sleeping now at that accommodation.
Our
supported landlord model is part of the Housing First approach. We spot
purchase a unit and then Housing Choices as the landlord provides the
support to sustain the tenancy with Housing First wraparound services
available. This goes from Perth and Peel to the Bunbury region. We started in
January, and to date we have added 70 properties supporting 112 individuals who
were sleeping rough at the beginning of the year. It is helping to change
lives. Of course, we made a $49 million commitment to extend that program at a slower
pace because of some of the constraints in regional Western Australia.
As part of our community cabinet, I
was yesterday out with the Stirling outreach team and Uniting WA and provided a
grant of around $180 000 to provide an outreach service five days a week in the
northern suburbs. I give a shout-out to the
leadership of the City of Stirling and the mayor who take a caring, kind and
compassionate approach and are really endorsing this outreach program.
That
is in contrast, I have to say, to what we are seeing in the Safe Night Space
for Women service. I want to put this on the record once and for all
about Safe Night Space. We have seen a vast range of excuses made by the City
of Perth. First, it was about a lack of funding. We believe there is an
expectation that a capital city council has a responsibility to fund that
service. When it decided not to fund that service, the state stepped in and
said, ''Okay, you've made your decision. Despite every other
capital city supporting services, you've made that decision so we will provide you the $3.14 million over two
years.'' Secondly, the City then said it is about the location and it is not warranted. I put on the public record that it was not the state that
picked the location; it was the City of Perth. I want to put this on the public
record because this is not politics here. I said this on 14 January 2022 —
I want to personally recognise the
Perth Lord Mayor for championing this proposal and the council for supporting
it — it's clearly working, and has assisted some women
transition into housing.
That is what I said and I had a picture taken with the mayor
outside Ruah headquarters. The councillors are now complaining about the
location. They picked it; they determined it.
Thirdly, they are now saying that
homelessness is not a responsibility of local government. Ask the City of
Stirling, because I see the leadership at the City of Stirling standing up. The
mayor said to me yesterday: ''All tiers are responsible for this
critical issue.'' We sought to assist Ruah—we are, through the
Office of Homelessness, working to find an
alternative location. I want to put that on the record. I note this, and the
media have not run this. At a council meeting on 28 February 2023 this
year, the Perth city council endorsed this motion —
REQUESTS the CEO to investigate the
feasibility of continuing this service or a version of this service at another
location and present this report to elected members at an EMES in due course.
The council endorsed a motion,
despite flagging of the closure, that it would report back on the feasibility
of a different location. I have spoken to
Ruah, and it has indicated to me that there has been no assistance and no
advice from the City of Perth
administration, and the minutes speak for themselves because there is no report
back to council.
We have a last-minute chance. There
is a last-minute chance for the City of Perth leadership at a moment in time. Put aside some of the Liberal activists like
Councillor Fleeton who takes photos of homeless people in the city and posts
them on Twitter; I will get to that at a different stage of political discourse
and debate. But the political leadership of the council has a clear choice.
There is a choice about continuing a service in the 16 Days in WA period for
women, the majority of whom are fleeing domestic violence. We have stepped up.
We have said that we will provide the funding now. What we ask is that the City
of Perth provides that location, which it provided and selected previously,
that was vacant at that time and help us to continue this service at this
critical time in our state's history.
her strong commitment to assisting the most vulnerable in Western Australia. We
know that COVID has radically reshaped our housing markets and rental markets.
Members have seen from our government a range of announcements by the Premier
only recently with regard to rental relief and short-term rental reform, but we
are continuing to deliver our social housing agenda. To date, despite the
toughest construction market, we have delivered just over 1 700 social homes
with more than 1 000 under contract or construction.
Another
part of the story that gets less attention is our work in the homelessness
sector. I am deeply proud of the sector's leadership and work and our partnership with it to
assist the most vulnerable. I want to go through it because we are strongly committed to the Housing First
Homelessness Initiative approach, which at its heart is about providing people with a roof and a home, but also the
intensive wraparound support services to sustain their tenancy. Boorloo Bidee
Mia has been an outstanding success that was launched by the previous Minister
for Community Services. The former Murray
Street hotel that we purchased I am pleased to say demonstrates thinking
outside the box. Koort Boodja is now almost at capacity with 24
residents who had previously been rough sleeping now at that accommodation.
Our
supported landlord model is part of the Housing First approach. We spot
purchase a unit and then Housing Choices as the landlord provides the
support to sustain the tenancy with Housing First wraparound services
available. This goes from Perth and Peel to the Bunbury region. We started in
January, and to date we have added 70 properties supporting 112 individuals who
were sleeping rough at the beginning of the year. It is helping to change
lives. Of course, we made a $49 million commitment to extend that program at a slower
pace because of some of the constraints in regional Western Australia.
As part of our community cabinet, I
was yesterday out with the Stirling outreach team and Uniting WA and provided a
grant of around $180 000 to provide an outreach service five days a week in the
northern suburbs. I give a shout-out to the
leadership of the City of Stirling and the mayor who take a caring, kind and
compassionate approach and are really endorsing this outreach program.
That
is in contrast, I have to say, to what we are seeing in the Safe Night Space
for Women service. I want to put this on the record once and for all
about Safe Night Space. We have seen a vast range of excuses made by the City
of Perth. First, it was about a lack of funding. We believe there is an
expectation that a capital city council has a responsibility to fund that
service. When it decided not to fund that service, the state stepped in and
said, ''Okay, you've made your decision. Despite every other
capital city supporting services, you've made that decision so we will provide you the $3.14 million over two
years.'' Secondly, the City then said it is about the location and it is not warranted. I put on the public record that it was not the state that
picked the location; it was the City of Perth. I want to put this on the public
record because this is not politics here. I said this on 14 January 2022 —
I want to personally recognise the
Perth Lord Mayor for championing this proposal and the council for supporting
it — it's clearly working, and has assisted some women
transition into housing.
That is what I said and I had a picture taken with the mayor
outside Ruah headquarters. The councillors are now complaining about the
location. They picked it; they determined it.
Thirdly, they are now saying that
homelessness is not a responsibility of local government. Ask the City of
Stirling, because I see the leadership at the City of Stirling standing up. The
mayor said to me yesterday: ''All tiers are responsible for this
critical issue.'' We sought to assist Ruah—we are, through the
Office of Homelessness, working to find an
alternative location. I want to put that on the record. I note this, and the
media have not run this. At a council meeting on 28 February 2023 this
year, the Perth city council endorsed this motion —
REQUESTS the CEO to investigate the
feasibility of continuing this service or a version of this service at another
location and present this report to elected members at an EMES in due course.
The council endorsed a motion,
despite flagging of the closure, that it would report back on the feasibility
of a different location. I have spoken to
Ruah, and it has indicated to me that there has been no assistance and no
advice from the City of Perth
administration, and the minutes speak for themselves because there is no report
back to council.
We have a last-minute chance. There
is a last-minute chance for the City of Perth leadership at a moment in time. Put aside some of the Liberal activists like
Councillor Fleeton who takes photos of homeless people in the city and posts
them on Twitter; I will get to that at a different stage of political discourse
and debate. But the political leadership of the council has a clear choice.
There is a choice about continuing a service in the 16 Days in WA period for
women, the majority of whom are fleeing domestic violence. We have stepped up.
We have said that we will provide the funding now. What we ask is that the City
of Perth provides that location, which it provided and selected previously,
that was vacant at that time and help us to continue this service at this
critical time in our state's history.
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