❓ Hon John Fischer raises concerns about housing availability and rent increases in Karratha. Hon Tom Stephens outlines government measures, including a task force and engagement with relevant departments, while acknowledging limitations under the Residential Tenancies Act.
AnsweredQoN 359Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
In June this year I brought to the minister’s attention, through a question in this House, the lack of available housing in Karratha. Although the minister outlined the measures his department is taking to combat this situation, there is now an added problem. Some residents in Karratha are facing rent increases of up to 44 per cent. What measures, if any, are being taken to inhibit profiteering by private landlords until sufficient housing is available? Hon TOM STEPHENS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. I have a couple of pages of information, which are ancillary to the question the member has asked but which relate to the general issue of the size of the housing task, about which he shares my concern. As a part response to the question, I have asked Cabinet to agree to the establishment of a task force aimed specifically at the housing issue within that community. The task force will be chaired by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pilbara Development Commission, who will have the assistance of the local representatives of the Real Estate Institute of WA, the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other departments and agencies to which the issue raised by the member will also be important. In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon TOM STEPHENS replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. I have a couple of pages of information, which are ancillary to the question the member has asked but which relate to the general issue of the size of the housing task, about which he shares my concern. As a part response to the question, I have asked Cabinet to agree to the establishment of a task force aimed specifically at the housing issue within that community. The task force will be chaired by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pilbara Development Commission, who will have the assistance of the local representatives of the Real Estate Institute of WA, the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other departments and agencies to which the issue raised by the member will also be important. In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. I have a couple of pages of information, which are ancillary to the question the member has asked but which relate to the general issue of the size of the housing task, about which he shares my concern. As a part response to the question, I have asked Cabinet to agree to the establishment of a task force aimed specifically at the housing issue within that community. The task force will be chaired by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pilbara Development Commission, who will have the assistance of the local representatives of the Real Estate Institute of WA, the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other departments and agencies to which the issue raised by the member will also be important. In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon TOM STEPHENS replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. I have a couple of pages of information, which are ancillary to the question the member has asked but which relate to the general issue of the size of the housing task, about which he shares my concern. As a part response to the question, I have asked Cabinet to agree to the establishment of a task force aimed specifically at the housing issue within that community. The task force will be chaired by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pilbara Development Commission, who will have the assistance of the local representatives of the Real Estate Institute of WA, the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other departments and agencies to which the issue raised by the member will also be important. In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. I have a couple of pages of information, which are ancillary to the question the member has asked but which relate to the general issue of the size of the housing task, about which he shares my concern. As a part response to the question, I have asked Cabinet to agree to the establishment of a task force aimed specifically at the housing issue within that community. The task force will be chaired by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Pilbara Development Commission, who will have the assistance of the local representatives of the Real Estate Institute of WA, the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other departments and agencies to which the issue raised by the member will also be important. In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
In part, the question necessitates drawing the member’s attention to how I am trying to influence the market to offset the opportunity for people to profiteer. Through the Department of Housing and Works, extra stock will be available for those people seeking affordable housing, who are, by and large, not the bulk of the people coming into the town for whom the available housing is beyond their income. I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
I have also asked the Country Housing Authority to focus on small business. I was in Dampier at the same time as some of my government colleagues. They bumped into me the week before last, and we had the opportunity to get the Country Housing Authority to talk to Hamersley Iron about freeing up accommodation for people from the business sector. That is a very important task. There are other opportunities for housing and land stock to become available to this market. With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
With reference to the specific issue raised by the member, which also is of concern to me, it is important for the member to know that the issue of excessive rents for private tenancies is, in the end, a matter for the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection and is subject to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. Public housing rents are primarily based on income, and no-one pays more than 25 per cent of his or her income. The Government is doing its part to meet the housing demand in Karratha, and I will continue to liaise with the Department of Housing and Works. With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
With regard to the member’s concerns about the alleged profiteering by private landlords, I have sought advice from the Minister for Consumer and Employment Protection, which I intend to follow up, on what is available to respond to this. There is no cap or formula in the Residential Tenancies Act for setting rent levels. Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon N.F. Moore: Do you think there should be one? Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon TOM STEPHENS: Under the Act, the level of rent and the amount of any rent increase are to be determined by the market. However, the Residential Tenancies Act provides protections for tenants by limiting rent increases for periodic tenancies to every six months and it requires an owner to give 60 days notice of the increase. For fixed-term tenancy agreements, the Act generally prohibits any increase in rent during the term of the tenancy. Tenants also receive protection from excessive rent increases in that they can seek from the small disputes division of the local court a declaration that the rent payable is excessive and a determination of the appropriate amount of rent. If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
If I may respond to the interjection during my answer to the question - The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
The PRESIDENT: No, the minister will not respond to the interjection; he will answer the question and ignore the interjection. Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
Hon TOM STEPHENS: I will ignore the interjection and simply say that the State Government is now focused on what could potentially be a large housing demand in Karratha. The factors that have been drawn to the attention of the House by Hon John Fischer come into play. If the market there is rapacious and greedy in relation to the demand for housing, of course the Government must respond to that reality. I implore the market, as I have in meetings with local businesspeople, not to take such steps as would provoke the Parliament into responding to that reality. That would then create exceptional circumstances for which blanket measures must be devised, which may not be in the best interests of the entire Western Australian community.
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