❓ Mr Blayney asks about Senator Sterle's criticism of the WA government's failure to repair an outstation. Mr Buswell refutes the claims, stating the Commonwealth is responsible and approval was recent, highlighting WA's success in remote housing.
AnsweredQoN 467Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DAMPIER INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES — SENATOR GLENN STERLE’S COMMENTS
I refer to recent comments made by Labor senator for Western Australia Glenn Sterle that criticised the state government for its failure to effect repairs at an outstation on the Dampier Peninsula. He claims that the government views the welfare of Aboriginal communities as insignificant to the re-election of the Liberal government. Can the minister inform the house of the accuracy or otherwise of Senator Sterle’s comments? Mr T.R. BUSWELL
I refer to recent comments made by Labor senator for Western Australia Glenn Sterle that criticised the state government for its failure to effect repairs at an outstation on the Dampier Peninsula. He claims that the government views the welfare of Aboriginal communities as insignificant to the re-election of the Liberal government. Can the minister inform the house of the accuracy or otherwise of Senator Sterle’s comments? Mr T.R. BUSWELL
AnswerView source ↗
Yes, I can. I thank the member for his question. My first response when my staff sent me through this press release was: who on earth is Glenn Sterle? I have discovered, after some significant research — Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL replied: Yes, I can. I thank the member for his question. My first response when my staff sent me through this press release was: who on earth is Glenn Sterle? I have discovered, after some significant research — Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Yes, I can. I thank the member for his question. My first response when my staff sent me through this press release was: who on earth is Glenn Sterle? I have discovered, after some significant research — Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL replied: Yes, I can. I thank the member for his question. My first response when my staff sent me through this press release was: who on earth is Glenn Sterle? I have discovered, after some significant research — Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Yes, I can. I thank the member for his question. My first response when my staff sent me through this press release was: who on earth is Glenn Sterle? I have discovered, after some significant research — Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Several members interjected. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Have members heard of him? Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr W.R. Marmion : No. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : I actually found out that I stood next to him at a function, but I did not remember. It was not until I saw the photo that I remembered; he looked familiar. He was elected to the federal Parliament in 2004. He took his seat — Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
The SPEAKER : Thank you, members. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : He took his seat in 2005. His main achievement in his five or six years in Parliament has been 10 overseas trips, including two this year to the United States—one to attend the Teamsters international conference. If members read his inaugural speech in Parliament—have a read—they would not even understand he was a senator from Western Australia. He appears as the sole acolyte of the Transport Workers Union. He put out this press release and held a press conference on Friday, 5 April, and he effectively claimed — I received notice from Minister Macklin in February 2011 that funding was now available to the new State Minister for Housing Troy Buswell to carry out the repairs immediately. He is referring to two outstations, Ngamakoon and Gurrbulgun, up on the Dampier Peninsula. Outstations, for the information of members, are generally very small communities where one or so families live, often for very valid reasons. The families choose to move out of larger communities for a whole range of reasons, which I think we should be supporting. He claimed that we were given money for that back in February. He has made a whole range of disparaging comments about the performance of not only the government but also the Department of Housing in relation to remote Aboriginal housing in particular. The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
The important point to note is that outstations are the responsibility of the commonwealth through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; they are not the responsibility of the state government. The commonwealth, through FaHCSIA, wrote to the state government earlier this year and asked us to do some scoping and costing for work to make repairs in these two communities. We did that; we supplied data that scoped the program and the costs to FaHCSIA in May. What happened, member for South Perth, was that FaHCSIA thought it was too expensive and it asked us to go back and re-scope the project, which we did. Final approval was given to the Department of Housing by FaHCSIA to progress these works on 10 August; Senator Sterle’s press release was put out on 5 August! So we have this bizarre circumstance in which a federal member—I have to say I have a very good working relationship with Senator Macklin, the state department has a great working relationship with FaHCSIA, and we are doing a lot of great things in the area of remote Aboriginal housing that I just want to touch on—Senator Sterle, is criticising us for not spending money that was not approved. It is lunacy. I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
I just want to highlight some of the good work that is happening in and around remote housing. As the house would be aware, we have about $320 million of commonwealth funding to deliver nearly 300 houses and 1 000 refurbishments over five years. In the first year of that program, 2009–10, we built 78 homes, overachieved our target and refurbished 150 houses. Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr A.P. O’Gorman : How much state money? Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : If the member had his ears turned on, he would have heard me just say that it was commonwealth funded. This work has always been commonwealth funded; we are the delivery mechanism. Does the member for Joondalup know what? In that year, Western Australia was one of the only states that met its targets—to such a degree that the commonwealth rewarded us with an additional $4 million payment. In the last financial year, 2010–11, we built 84 new houses against a target of 76 and had 271 refurbishments against a target of 250. They are fantastic outcomes in very, very difficult circumstances. In addition, workers’ hostels are being built in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Derby and Broome, which will deliver 100 beds for young people from across the Kimberley to go into larger towns and work and gain employment. Visitor centres are being built in the member for Eyre’s electorate to service people who move in off the Spinifex area out along the railway line heading towards the border. I just want to conclude with a comparison of Senator Sterle’s drivel compared with what we have done in Warnum under the leadership of the Deputy Premier. Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr M. McGowan : Warmun. Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL : Warmun, my apologies. Warmun, as members know, on 14 March was damaged badly by floods. The first thing the government did was evacuate the 300 or so people who live in Warmun to Kununurra. The second thing we did was embark on a significant rebuilding program. Phase 1 has just been completed; 15 new homes and eight refurbishments were completed by 30 June. A 200-bed temporary accommodation facility has been built; the community has moved home. There are two more phases to this reconstruction; 19 new houses by the end of this year in phase 2 and another 19 or 20 by the middle of next year. It is a fantastic effort to rebuild in its entirety a whole community that was devastated by a flood. If members look for a mark of this government’s commitment to remote housing in communities like that, they need to look at the results we have been delivering to those residents. They are fantastic results, they have been supported by the commonwealth, and I am particularly proud of the work the Department of Housing and this government are doing in delivering Aboriginal housing solutions in remote areas of Western Australia. Perhaps Senator Sterle needs to better inform himself of the circumstances on the ground before making wide spurious claims about our failure to deliver on spending when we have not even had the money approved to spend it.
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Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.