Drug dealers who operate within Western Australia’s social housing dwellings have been put on notice after the state’s premier, Mark McGowan, said his government attempted to stamp out dealers’ business activities during his first term as premier.
This follows questions directed to McGowan during the state’s budget estimates over why there was a fall in social housing properties from 44,087 in 2016-17 to 42,932 in 2019-2020.
He described apartment blocks—such as the Brownlie Towers in Bentley and Stirling Towers in Highgate—as “ghettos” that led to crime and dysfunction, as well as being a hot spot for “drugs and other things.”
“If your analysis is it’s better to keep ghettos than not, that is something you can argue,” McGowan said.
“On the other hand, at some point in time, a government had to deal with it, and we dealt with it.
“We are able to provide more housing over time that is more appropriate and more liveable.
“We dealt with a long-standing issue, I actually think it was a good achievement to remove ghettos,” McGowan said.
‘Record’ Investment into Social Housing
On May 1, the McGowan government declared it had invested a “record” of $2.6 billion into the state’s housing and homelessness services, including the development of more than 4000 social housing dwellings. The $2.6 billion includes an additional $511 million that the state will inject into housing and homelessness initiatives.This follows the delivery of the state’s budget, in which WA emerged as the nation’s strongest economy with a surplus of $4.2 billion.
Western Australian Housing Minister John Carey said that the state was “doing all it can” to boost social housing by retaining ageing dwellings and investing in alternative construction methods as it delivers social housing across the state.
Peak Homelessness Body Commends Investment But Criticises Lack of Support Funding
Meanwhile, Shelter WA—the peak body advocating for social housing in Western Australia—has praised the investment but has criticised the lack of funding for homelessness support services.“WA has enjoyed successive surpluses worth almost $17 billion over the last four years, yet over a similar period, the number of people sleeping rough has doubled, rents have skyrocketed, and homeless support services are turning away record numbers of people.”
According to the advocacy body, 9,729 people are experiencing homelessness in WA—an increase of eight percent since the last census.
Additionally, 18,919 households, or 33,806 people, were on the social housing waitlist as of January 2023.
Nationally, it is estimated that over half a million low-income households have unmet housing needs.
“These Australians were either experiencing homelessness, in overcrowded homes or spending over 30 percent of their income on rent. Projecting this unmet need forward indicates that, by 2041, a further 300,000 households will not be living in appropriate housing.”
