❓ Mr. Miles asks about the Kathryne O'Connor public housing case. Mr. Marmion responds, outlining the government's efforts to assist Ms. O'Connor and criticising the opposition's handling of the situation.
AnsweredQoN 516Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PUBLIC HOUSING — Kathryne O’Connor
I was very concerned last week when I saw members opposite, again in an attempt to gain political points, callously manipulate the plight of a person waiting for public housing. Will the minister please outline the facts surrounding the case of Kathryne O’Connor and the state government’s role in trying to help this young family? Mr W.R. MARMION
I was very concerned last week when I saw members opposite, again in an attempt to gain political points, callously manipulate the plight of a person waiting for public housing. Will the minister please outline the facts surrounding the case of Kathryne O’Connor and the state government’s role in trying to help this young family? Mr W.R. MARMION
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Wanneroo for this question. It gives me the opportunity to put on the record the facts around this issue. Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION replied: I thank the member for Wanneroo for this question. It gives me the opportunity to put on the record the facts around this issue. Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
I thank the member for Wanneroo for this question. It gives me the opportunity to put on the record the facts around this issue. Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
[See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION replied: I thank the member for Wanneroo for this question. It gives me the opportunity to put on the record the facts around this issue. Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
I thank the member for Wanneroo for this question. It gives me the opportunity to put on the record the facts around this issue. Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Late yesterday afternoon I asked the Director General of the Department of Housing to provide Ms O’Connor with temporary access to her mother’s former home until the department can find a new home. The only reason I made this decision is for the sake of Ms O’Connor’s three children. I do not condone dealing with these complex issues through the media. Many people deal often with harsh and distressing situations; ones that tear at the hearts of members of this house. Successive governments have learnt that there are no easy solutions to these problems. Our response today should not be seen as condoning what has taken place. It is unfortunate that this mother chose not to cooperate with government agencies. Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Several members interjected. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : I am happy to table the document that I am reading from, by the way. Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected. The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for Girrawheen! Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : Listen! This is important. There are children involved in this matter. We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
We offered this family financial assistance and temporary accommodation but, disappointingly, these offers were refused. Despite the government’s best efforts, this mother made the choice to stay in a tent at this property. There has been a lot of misinformation on this subject, and that is why I take this opportunity to put the record straight today. Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Expectations have been raised and the matter has become a political game for the opposition. It is my view that we need to assist Ms O’Connor in looking after the best interests of her children. I reiterate that Ms O’Connor was offered emergency shelter, which she refused. This offer was intended to provide a roof over her family’s head while the department allocated her a home from the priority waiting list, which was expected to happen within about two weeks. There are difficult family circumstances in this case, which I will not go into, except to say that it is not and cannot be government policy to allow state-owned social housing to be passed from one family member to the next. In this case Ms O’Connor’s mother asked to be moved. An offer was made for her to stay a little longer until her daughter had a new place allocated. She chose not to accept this offer. I reiterate that I do not support people who circumvent the system or attempt to queue-jump, which has been the case here, but the circumstances have got out of hand. This is why I chose to intervene with the Department of Housing. This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
This situation has been made worse by the inappropriate comments of the opposition leader yesterday, who on Channel 10 news said, according to my notes — I think the government will come along and take her children away from her. That was the Leader of the Opposition yesterday on Channel 10. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham! Minister, I hope you are getting towards the end of this document. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : I am. The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : I will ask you at the end to table the document. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the second time today! Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : The choice of words in this matter is very important, so I am very carefully reading my notes because this is a very sensitive matter. Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr P. Papalia interjected. The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I formally call you for the third time today. I am trying to get through question time, which some people appreciate in this place. Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : I am surprised that somebody like the Leader of the Opposition would make those comments because I thought they were extremely insensitive. I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
I take matters of child welfare extremely seriously. However, a situation has arisen in which a mother was prepared to use her children to get a particular housing outcome and the Leader of the Opposition used this situation for political gain. This is unacceptable and could not continue for the sake of the children, hence my decision to provide a safe environment for the children and buy time for an outcome in accordance with proper policy and process. As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
As I touched on yesterday, the state government is working extremely hard to ease the pressure on the public and social housing list. We are building new properties at an unprecedented rate. By Christmas this year we will have built 1 000 houses and by 2020 we will have built 20 000. I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
I request members opposite to begin to work with the government on these types of sensitive matters rather than against us. It is not appropriate for members to make political gain out of a family’s difficult situation to promote themselves and the leadership of their party. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
The SPEAKER : I formally call you for the first time, member for Victoria Park. Member for Vasse, I formally call you for the first time as well. Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Minister, are you going to table some documents? Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
Mr W.R. MARMION : Yes, Mr Speaker. [See paper 2500.]
[See paper 2500.]
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