❓ Mr. Krsticevic questions the Premier's handling of homelessness, violence, and drug abuse in Perth, particularly regarding the Tranby Centre. The Premier defends the government's comprehensive strategy and investments in these areas.
AnsweredQoN 1032Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH —
HOMELESSNESS, VIOLENCE AND DRUG ABUSE
1032. Mr A. KRSTICEVIC to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
failure to deliver a comprehensive response to the out-of-control violence,
meth crisis and homelessness crisis in Perth, and to his attempt to address
these issues with bandaid solutions.
(1) Can the
Premier confirm that the Tranby Centre for the homeless was forced to close for
two days last week because of out-of-control violence and meth dealers preying
on the homeless?
(2) Can the
Premier confirm that his failure to provide and fund a comprehensive
homelessness strategy means his government is the problem, not the solution?
HOMELESSNESS, VIOLENCE AND DRUG ABUSE
1032. Mr A. KRSTICEVIC to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
failure to deliver a comprehensive response to the out-of-control violence,
meth crisis and homelessness crisis in Perth, and to his attempt to address
these issues with bandaid solutions.
(1) Can the
Premier confirm that the Tranby Centre for the homeless was forced to close for
two days last week because of out-of-control violence and meth dealers preying
on the homeless?
(2) Can the
Premier confirm that his failure to provide and fund a comprehensive
homelessness strategy means his government is the problem, not the solution?
AnswerView source ↗
Just prior to answering that
question, on behalf of the government, and following on from the Minister for
Emergency Services yesterday, can I pass on the thoughts of the government, the
Parliament and the people of Western Australia to those people in the eastern
states who are dealing with a serious bushfire crisis, particularly New South
Wales and Queensland. I thank all the volunteers, especially those from Western
Australia, and the permanent staff of the Western Australian government, who
are assisting in fighting the fires in the eastern states. I also acknowledge all the firefighters in the
eastern states who are dealing with this extraordinarily difficult situation.
Can
I also, on behalf of the member for Cannington, acknowledge the students from
St Norbert College in Queens Park who are in the public gallery today.
(1)–(2) The
government has implemented a comprehensive response to deal with
methamphetamine, which deals with both
supply and education, and to interdict and reduce the amount of drugs in our
community, and also to try to assist people who are addicted to deal
with their addiction. As we know, addictions are difficult issues to deal with.
But we do have a comprehensive response, and we are investing over $200 million.
The
government is also investing around $100 million to deal with homelessness. As
we know, homelessness is a complex
issue as well, and it does relate often to mental health, drug addiction
issues, family break-up and family violence. It is complex. But we have
a $90 million to $100 million homelessness strategy. We did invest additional
money in supporting both the Tranby Centre and some Fremantle facilities to
deal with homelessness. The government recognises that those services do it
tough. That is why we gave additional support to Tranby house. Clearly, there
have been some issues around Tranby house. Naturally, having additional opening
hours may well mean that more people are attending, and that has caused some
social issues in the area. I know that UnitingCare West is working with the
police to improve the police attendance and the police levels around Tranby
house in light of the additional hours there. I also know that additional CCTV
cameras are being installed so that the situation can be better monitored.
I am advised that Tranby house had a planning
session, which was for a day or two days, in which they voluntarily decided to
have their staff assemble and not deal with people coming in so that they could
work out strategies to deal with the additional hours and the additional
funding from the government. That is the reason behind it. The member can
scaremonger all he likes. That is exactly what he does. But they are the facts
of the matter.
Ms S.F. McGurk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister!
Ms S.F. McGurk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister! I call
you to order for the first time.
question, on behalf of the government, and following on from the Minister for
Emergency Services yesterday, can I pass on the thoughts of the government, the
Parliament and the people of Western Australia to those people in the eastern
states who are dealing with a serious bushfire crisis, particularly New South
Wales and Queensland. I thank all the volunteers, especially those from Western
Australia, and the permanent staff of the Western Australian government, who
are assisting in fighting the fires in the eastern states. I also acknowledge all the firefighters in the
eastern states who are dealing with this extraordinarily difficult situation.
Can
I also, on behalf of the member for Cannington, acknowledge the students from
St Norbert College in Queens Park who are in the public gallery today.
(1)–(2) The
government has implemented a comprehensive response to deal with
methamphetamine, which deals with both
supply and education, and to interdict and reduce the amount of drugs in our
community, and also to try to assist people who are addicted to deal
with their addiction. As we know, addictions are difficult issues to deal with.
But we do have a comprehensive response, and we are investing over $200 million.
The
government is also investing around $100 million to deal with homelessness. As
we know, homelessness is a complex
issue as well, and it does relate often to mental health, drug addiction
issues, family break-up and family violence. It is complex. But we have
a $90 million to $100 million homelessness strategy. We did invest additional
money in supporting both the Tranby Centre and some Fremantle facilities to
deal with homelessness. The government recognises that those services do it
tough. That is why we gave additional support to Tranby house. Clearly, there
have been some issues around Tranby house. Naturally, having additional opening
hours may well mean that more people are attending, and that has caused some
social issues in the area. I know that UnitingCare West is working with the
police to improve the police attendance and the police levels around Tranby
house in light of the additional hours there. I also know that additional CCTV
cameras are being installed so that the situation can be better monitored.
I am advised that Tranby house had a planning
session, which was for a day or two days, in which they voluntarily decided to
have their staff assemble and not deal with people coming in so that they could
work out strategies to deal with the additional hours and the additional
funding from the government. That is the reason behind it. The member can
scaremonger all he likes. That is exactly what he does. But they are the facts
of the matter.
Ms S.F. McGurk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister!
Ms S.F. McGurk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister! I call
you to order for the first time.
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