❓ Mr. Bolt raises concerns about criminal and antisocial behaviour at a public housing complex in Inglewood. The Minister responds by outlining broader housing pressures and actions being taken, but avoids specific details due to legal constraints.
AnsweredQoN 111Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Social housing—Inglewood
111. Mr David Bolt to the Minister for Housing and Works:
I refer to the
serious criminal and antisocial behaviour from tenants at the public housing
complex at Ninth Avenue, Inglewood, that is impacting the lives of the nearby
residents, some of whom are in the gallery today.
(1) When can the residents expect the minister to conclude
his review of the tenancy arrangements, given the dire situation that the residents
are living in?
(2) Has the minister met with the residents to
hear firsthand how they now feel being too scared to leave their homes from
fear of being targeted by antisocial behaviour?
111. Mr David Bolt to the Minister for Housing and Works:
I refer to the
serious criminal and antisocial behaviour from tenants at the public housing
complex at Ninth Avenue, Inglewood, that is impacting the lives of the nearby
residents, some of whom are in the gallery today.
(1) When can the residents expect the minister to conclude
his review of the tenancy arrangements, given the dire situation that the residents
are living in?
(2) Has the minister met with the residents to
hear firsthand how they now feel being too scared to leave their homes from
fear of being targeted by antisocial behaviour?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question.
(1)–(2) I want to provide some broader
context. I have been in this chamber over the past four and a half years to
talk about the real housing pressures we are facing across the country. There
is a level of awareness from everyone here and in every state that we need more
housing across the continuum and that we need more social and affordable
housing. Every state is seeing growth in waiting lists as people are seeking the
safety net of social housing. There is an assumption that people in this
chamber—all of us—may not need social housing. The truth is far
from that. The reality is that anyone can be that short gap from a relationship
break-up, a cancer diagnosis or a job loss when, in one circumstance, their
lives are comfortable and they have a home and in the next they need social
housing. The reality is that our social housing system caters to a large number
of people with different vulnerabilities such as women fleeing from domestic
violence and leaving and escaping their perpetrator. We have the elderly who have
retired and desperately need a home. We have people with disabilities who have
no other option, and we obviously have people with mental health issues. These
people need housing. For context, 70% of our waitlist is made up of singles and
couples, and so we need single units. The way that we can deliver those single
units is through a large number of different
programs, including the provision of a vast number of complexes and buildings across the state. There are around 40,000 social houses in the system. The vast
majority of people live their lives every day in their homes just doing their
best.
Of course, we have so much
housing stock that, from time to time, we will face these types of scenarios,
and we take it seriously. As the Minister for Housing and Works, I understand
the impact of people's behaviour, particularly when it is criminal or other
behaviour, and how that affects other social housing tenants and the nearby
community. For the record—we understand this—any matters of
criminality are for the Western Australia Police Force to investigate and take
action on, but the Department of Communities works in tandem with WA Police on
these complex issues, and we have seen it in this case. The Department of
Communities, with enforcement by WA Police, has issued banning notices to
prevent people from coming on site, and the police have enacted that. We have,
of course, seen the police significantly increase presence and patrols in
relation to criminal matters. We are also enforcing liquor restrictions to prevent
alcohol consumption on common premises. There is also CCTV, and more to come.
The message is that we are taking this seriously and the department is taking
action on individual tenancies. However, I must be clear on this: I cannot go
into the individual tenancies. We have a legal due process to follow. If we do
not follow that process, any attempt of eviction may fail before a magistrate. I want to assure that community that we are
taking this seriously. We are working with WA Police and we will focus, as we
do, on all our social housing complexes by working with a range of service
providers for what can be complex matters and also people with significant
vulnerabilities.
for the question.
(1)–(2) I want to provide some broader
context. I have been in this chamber over the past four and a half years to
talk about the real housing pressures we are facing across the country. There
is a level of awareness from everyone here and in every state that we need more
housing across the continuum and that we need more social and affordable
housing. Every state is seeing growth in waiting lists as people are seeking the
safety net of social housing. There is an assumption that people in this
chamber—all of us—may not need social housing. The truth is far
from that. The reality is that anyone can be that short gap from a relationship
break-up, a cancer diagnosis or a job loss when, in one circumstance, their
lives are comfortable and they have a home and in the next they need social
housing. The reality is that our social housing system caters to a large number
of people with different vulnerabilities such as women fleeing from domestic
violence and leaving and escaping their perpetrator. We have the elderly who have
retired and desperately need a home. We have people with disabilities who have
no other option, and we obviously have people with mental health issues. These
people need housing. For context, 70% of our waitlist is made up of singles and
couples, and so we need single units. The way that we can deliver those single
units is through a large number of different
programs, including the provision of a vast number of complexes and buildings across the state. There are around 40,000 social houses in the system. The vast
majority of people live their lives every day in their homes just doing their
best.
Of course, we have so much
housing stock that, from time to time, we will face these types of scenarios,
and we take it seriously. As the Minister for Housing and Works, I understand
the impact of people's behaviour, particularly when it is criminal or other
behaviour, and how that affects other social housing tenants and the nearby
community. For the record—we understand this—any matters of
criminality are for the Western Australia Police Force to investigate and take
action on, but the Department of Communities works in tandem with WA Police on
these complex issues, and we have seen it in this case. The Department of
Communities, with enforcement by WA Police, has issued banning notices to
prevent people from coming on site, and the police have enacted that. We have,
of course, seen the police significantly increase presence and patrols in
relation to criminal matters. We are also enforcing liquor restrictions to prevent
alcohol consumption on common premises. There is also CCTV, and more to come.
The message is that we are taking this seriously and the department is taking
action on individual tenancies. However, I must be clear on this: I cannot go
into the individual tenancies. We have a legal due process to follow. If we do
not follow that process, any attempt of eviction may fail before a magistrate. I want to assure that community that we are
taking this seriously. We are working with WA Police and we will focus, as we
do, on all our social housing complexes by working with a range of service
providers for what can be complex matters and also people with significant
vulnerabilities.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
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.