❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Premier on the WA housing crisis, citing shortages, rising rents, and builder collapses. The Premier responds by outlining factors contributing to the crisis and government initiatives to increase housing supply.
AnsweredQoN 10Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
RESIDENTIAL HOUSING
10. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the dire housing
shortages plaguing the state since 2017, with rental vacancies under one per
cent, rents increasing by 45 per cent and the state's construction
industry facing a crisis, with over 94 builders collapsing. What is the
government doing to address this residential housing issue, with WA families
unable to find affordable rental accommodation or to build their own home?
10. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the dire housing
shortages plaguing the state since 2017, with rental vacancies under one per
cent, rents increasing by 45 per cent and the state's construction
industry facing a crisis, with over 94 builders collapsing. What is the
government doing to address this residential housing issue, with WA families
unable to find affordable rental accommodation or to build their own home?
AnswerView source ↗
Over the last few years, a lot of
people came home from overseas. A lot of people did not want to live overseas
anymore, so a lot of Australians came back. We were one of only two states that
had net migration from interstate over the COVID period. A lot of people from
Victoria and New South Wales went to Queensland—to a lesser degree, but
still—and Western Australia. Then we took the step of, basically, over
the COVID period, closing down interstate FIFO. If people wanted to continue to
work in the mining or energy industries, a lot of them had to move to Western Australia. There was a risk to
the state. Those three things occurred. Then we had a period early in
2020 when basically new sign-ups for homes stopped completely and all the
display villages closed. I do not know whether people remember that, but that
is what happened. We then put in place a $45 000 incentive package with the
commonwealth government. It was not means-tested—just build a house.
We now have around 28 000 new
builds underway. They have had trouble completing because of the sheer scale of
activity going on in Western Australia. People only have to go out there and
they will see cranes everywhere. Construction is rife in the suburbs and in the
city—whenever we go. People can go to regional towns and see cranes.
Construction is on a scale I have never seen before. Those new dwellings will
complete over time. That will provide the people who are currently in rentals
with the opportunity to move into their new home and it will provide new rental
opportunities for other people to move into. On top of that, the state
government is acquiring a huge number of new social properties for people.
There is investment of over $2 billion. I think it is the largest per capita.
Then we have the $350 million investment in remote housing around Western Australia.
All that activity is underway to deal with this issue that has occurred.
Another thing that occurred over the COVID period is that
there were high rates of family separation. When that happens, lots of people
look for properties. All these things came together to exacerbate the issue. We
are building 3 300 new social dwellings. We have thousands of properties—nearly
30 000—under construction and, hopefully, they will reach conclusion
shortly. All those things are happening. But I do not deny that some people are
having difficulty acquiring a rental property for the reasons that I just
outlined to the member. The good thing is that lots of activity is happening.
I
also note this: lots of new projects were often opposed. The opposition to them
was from the Liberal Party. The Leader of the Liberal Party's
predecessor made a point in his social media and commentary of attacking the
Minister for Planning for building new housing. Whenever she tried to get some
density—that evil word ''density''—or tried to
ensure that people could build properties for people to live in who might want
to downsize from a bigger block into an apartment, the last Leader of the
Liberal Party opposed it. The Leader of the Liberal Party cannot walk both
sides of the fence. As Joh Bjelke-Petersen said, if you walk both sides of a barbed
wire fence, you are going to get yourself in trouble! The member cannot walk
both sides of a barbed wire fence, or, indeed, any fence. She has to decide
which one she wants. Is she going to follow the anti�development, anti-activity
route of her predecessor or is she going to support us when we are trying to
get new investment, new activity and new places to live out there?
people came home from overseas. A lot of people did not want to live overseas
anymore, so a lot of Australians came back. We were one of only two states that
had net migration from interstate over the COVID period. A lot of people from
Victoria and New South Wales went to Queensland—to a lesser degree, but
still—and Western Australia. Then we took the step of, basically, over
the COVID period, closing down interstate FIFO. If people wanted to continue to
work in the mining or energy industries, a lot of them had to move to Western Australia. There was a risk to
the state. Those three things occurred. Then we had a period early in
2020 when basically new sign-ups for homes stopped completely and all the
display villages closed. I do not know whether people remember that, but that
is what happened. We then put in place a $45 000 incentive package with the
commonwealth government. It was not means-tested—just build a house.
We now have around 28 000 new
builds underway. They have had trouble completing because of the sheer scale of
activity going on in Western Australia. People only have to go out there and
they will see cranes everywhere. Construction is rife in the suburbs and in the
city—whenever we go. People can go to regional towns and see cranes.
Construction is on a scale I have never seen before. Those new dwellings will
complete over time. That will provide the people who are currently in rentals
with the opportunity to move into their new home and it will provide new rental
opportunities for other people to move into. On top of that, the state
government is acquiring a huge number of new social properties for people.
There is investment of over $2 billion. I think it is the largest per capita.
Then we have the $350 million investment in remote housing around Western Australia.
All that activity is underway to deal with this issue that has occurred.
Another thing that occurred over the COVID period is that
there were high rates of family separation. When that happens, lots of people
look for properties. All these things came together to exacerbate the issue. We
are building 3 300 new social dwellings. We have thousands of properties—nearly
30 000—under construction and, hopefully, they will reach conclusion
shortly. All those things are happening. But I do not deny that some people are
having difficulty acquiring a rental property for the reasons that I just
outlined to the member. The good thing is that lots of activity is happening.
I
also note this: lots of new projects were often opposed. The opposition to them
was from the Liberal Party. The Leader of the Liberal Party's
predecessor made a point in his social media and commentary of attacking the
Minister for Planning for building new housing. Whenever she tried to get some
density—that evil word ''density''—or tried to
ensure that people could build properties for people to live in who might want
to downsize from a bigger block into an apartment, the last Leader of the
Liberal Party opposed it. The Leader of the Liberal Party cannot walk both
sides of the fence. As Joh Bjelke-Petersen said, if you walk both sides of a barbed
wire fence, you are going to get yourself in trouble! The member cannot walk
both sides of a barbed wire fence, or, indeed, any fence. She has to decide
which one she wants. Is she going to follow the anti�development, anti-activity
route of her predecessor or is she going to support us when we are trying to
get new investment, new activity and new places to live out there?
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