❓ Mr. Krsticevic questions the Minister for Community Services about the delay in the homelessness strategy and funding. The Minister defends the government's approach, citing collaboration with the sector and ongoing research, while also attacking Mr. Krsticevic's past actions.
AnsweredQoN 996Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY
996. Mr
A. KRSTICEVIC to the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to the minister's
answer to my question in the other place this week regarding the homelessness
crisis in the state. Can the minister confirm to the house despite the
homelessness crisis that the government has failed to complete the homelessness
strategy after three years in government and, of even greater concern, the
government has no intention to even consider funding homelessness appropriately
until at least May next year when the budget is handed down?
996. Mr
A. KRSTICEVIC to the Minister for Community Services:
I refer to the minister's
answer to my question in the other place this week regarding the homelessness
crisis in the state. Can the minister confirm to the house despite the
homelessness crisis that the government has failed to complete the homelessness
strategy after three years in government and, of even greater concern, the
government has no intention to even consider funding homelessness appropriately
until at least May next year when the budget is handed down?
AnswerView source ↗
We made a commitment leading up to
the election that we would do social policy; we would address some of our most
complex social problems in a different way; and we would work with the sector,
particularly around homelessness. This is really important because the state
government does not provide services. We fund a range of not-for-profit
organisations to do that face-to-face work with homeless people. We established
the Supporting Communities Forum, which is the main peak body with a range of
different leads from the not-for-profit and community sector. We said that we
would work with the forum to look at some our most difficult social issues. In
the case of homelessness, we committed the director general of the Department
of Communities to look at the issue. First Graham Searle and then Michelle
Andrews have been working with the president of Western Australian Council of
Social Service and the head of Ruah, Debra Zanella, to lead the work on the
homelessness strategy. It has been doing that for the past 12 months, not three
years. We announced in the third quarter of last year and we said that we would
release it towards the end of this year. We are still on track to do that.
Whether there will be additional
budget allocations and the like will be a matter for government to decide.
Already we spend over $90 million on homelessness services around the state.
There is a lot to do; there is no doubt about that. We understand that.
Homelessness does not exist in a vacuum and people—the public and,
hopefully, people in this chamber—completely understand that it almost
certainly co-presents with a range of very difficult social problems, such as undiagnosed or unmanaged mental
health, drug and alcohol dependence, intergenerational issues , poverty
and the like. There is a lot of work to do. First of all, we are determined to
understand how homelessness manifests around the state. We are seeing people
sleeping rough in the metropolitan centres, and I understand that the public
find that distressing and frustrating, but we also know that homelessness
manifests in a lot of different ways in regional centres or rural and remote
areas.
We commissioned a significant piece
of research by the University of Western Australia to commence design of a homelessness
strategy, and we will work on the best evidence available internationally of
what works, not a headline, not an easy quick fix. We will look at the best
evidence of what will work with homelessness. As I said, I understand that the
public, businesses and the community have frustrations when they are trying to
go about their work. In the case of metropolitan centres, hospitality
businesses and the like are trying to operate and they get frustrated by seeing the antisocial activity that
is sometimes associated with homelessness. It is not always homeless people, but it is a catch-all phrase that can be convenient.
I have said before in this house
that I get frustrated at the member for Carine's sudden interest in
this area. I stand to be corrected, but I have been a member since 2013 and I do
not remember him ever raising concerns about homelessness or some of the most
disadvantaged in our community. I was reminded recently that the member for
Carine has been associated with some vulnerable people in his own electorate.
In 2009 The West Australian reported —
Carine
Liberal MP Tony Krsticevic lobbied for the sale of a State-owned property on
behalf of a residents' group which one of them later bought, it
has emerged
� he lobbied Housing Minister Troy
Buswell to include the property in the Government's program to sell
public housing in ritzy areas —
In his electorate —
to fund more houses in affordable
areas �
There was a three-bedroom house,
where 12 people were living, including 10 children. Four of them were foster
children. The member for Carine lobbied the then Minister for Housing to sell
that house. In fact, he wanted to sell the house because he did not want them
in his electorate. He did not want them in his electorate!
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Carine!
Mr F.M. Logan : He created the
homeless crisis!
Ms S.F. McGURK : That is
right. Thank you. I stand corrected. The member has referred to vulnerable
people and homeless people. He created some of them.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine! You will not get a supplementary question.
Ms S.F. McGURK : Another twist
to the story is that the husband of one of the members of the residents group,
Mr Comito, later bought the house at auction for $665 000, which was $25 000
above its reserve. How about that? It was never declared by the member for
Carine. It does not really matter, does it? It does not really matter that he
was lobbying on behalf of a residents group.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Come on,
members. We have to finish very quickly to get the matter of public interest
in.
Ms
S.F. McGURK : Members in this
chamber will be judged on their activities. They will be judged on who they go out to bat for. When the time came to go out to bat for a vulnerable family in
the member for Carine's community, he kicked them out. That was his
solution—to kick them out and sell the house from under them. Good on
you, member for Carine!
the election that we would do social policy; we would address some of our most
complex social problems in a different way; and we would work with the sector,
particularly around homelessness. This is really important because the state
government does not provide services. We fund a range of not-for-profit
organisations to do that face-to-face work with homeless people. We established
the Supporting Communities Forum, which is the main peak body with a range of
different leads from the not-for-profit and community sector. We said that we
would work with the forum to look at some our most difficult social issues. In
the case of homelessness, we committed the director general of the Department
of Communities to look at the issue. First Graham Searle and then Michelle
Andrews have been working with the president of Western Australian Council of
Social Service and the head of Ruah, Debra Zanella, to lead the work on the
homelessness strategy. It has been doing that for the past 12 months, not three
years. We announced in the third quarter of last year and we said that we would
release it towards the end of this year. We are still on track to do that.
Whether there will be additional
budget allocations and the like will be a matter for government to decide.
Already we spend over $90 million on homelessness services around the state.
There is a lot to do; there is no doubt about that. We understand that.
Homelessness does not exist in a vacuum and people—the public and,
hopefully, people in this chamber—completely understand that it almost
certainly co-presents with a range of very difficult social problems, such as undiagnosed or unmanaged mental
health, drug and alcohol dependence, intergenerational issues , poverty
and the like. There is a lot of work to do. First of all, we are determined to
understand how homelessness manifests around the state. We are seeing people
sleeping rough in the metropolitan centres, and I understand that the public
find that distressing and frustrating, but we also know that homelessness
manifests in a lot of different ways in regional centres or rural and remote
areas.
We commissioned a significant piece
of research by the University of Western Australia to commence design of a homelessness
strategy, and we will work on the best evidence available internationally of
what works, not a headline, not an easy quick fix. We will look at the best
evidence of what will work with homelessness. As I said, I understand that the
public, businesses and the community have frustrations when they are trying to
go about their work. In the case of metropolitan centres, hospitality
businesses and the like are trying to operate and they get frustrated by seeing the antisocial activity that
is sometimes associated with homelessness. It is not always homeless people, but it is a catch-all phrase that can be convenient.
I have said before in this house
that I get frustrated at the member for Carine's sudden interest in
this area. I stand to be corrected, but I have been a member since 2013 and I do
not remember him ever raising concerns about homelessness or some of the most
disadvantaged in our community. I was reminded recently that the member for
Carine has been associated with some vulnerable people in his own electorate.
In 2009 The West Australian reported —
Carine
Liberal MP Tony Krsticevic lobbied for the sale of a State-owned property on
behalf of a residents' group which one of them later bought, it
has emerged
� he lobbied Housing Minister Troy
Buswell to include the property in the Government's program to sell
public housing in ritzy areas —
In his electorate —
to fund more houses in affordable
areas �
There was a three-bedroom house,
where 12 people were living, including 10 children. Four of them were foster
children. The member for Carine lobbied the then Minister for Housing to sell
that house. In fact, he wanted to sell the house because he did not want them
in his electorate. He did not want them in his electorate!
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Carine!
Mr F.M. Logan : He created the
homeless crisis!
Ms S.F. McGURK : That is
right. Thank you. I stand corrected. The member has referred to vulnerable
people and homeless people. He created some of them.
Mr A. Krsticevic interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for
Carine! You will not get a supplementary question.
Ms S.F. McGURK : Another twist
to the story is that the husband of one of the members of the residents group,
Mr Comito, later bought the house at auction for $665 000, which was $25 000
above its reserve. How about that? It was never declared by the member for
Carine. It does not really matter, does it? It does not really matter that he
was lobbying on behalf of a residents group.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Come on,
members. We have to finish very quickly to get the matter of public interest
in.
Ms
S.F. McGURK : Members in this
chamber will be judged on their activities. They will be judged on who they go out to bat for. When the time came to go out to bat for a vulnerable family in
the member for Carine's community, he kicked them out. That was his
solution—to kick them out and sell the house from under them. Good on
you, member for Carine!
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