Monday, 15 January 2018
The length of waiting lists to access community housing in Kalgoorlie-Boulder should be a cause for concern for the McGowan Government according to Greens WA Member for Mining and Pastoral Robin Chapple.
Mr Chapple said that recent comments by Liberal member Kyran O’Donnell, who described community housing tenants as ‘welfare families,’ are damaging and ill-informed.
“Housing is a basic human right and everyone should have access to appropriate, safe, secure and affordable dwellings,” he said.
“The fact that families doing it tough are being left in poor conditions or even without a roof over their heads is tragic and the Member for Kalgoorlie’s role should be about finding solutions rather than stoking tensions and laying blame.
“For Mr O’Donnell to say that harsher penalties and putting families onto the streets will solve the housing crisis is far from helpful.”
Mr Chapple called on the government to investigate options to find suitable accommodation for people currently on the waiting list for housing in WA.
“What the public deserves is a government that will approach housing in the same way that we approach healthcare and education – as a human right.
“With over 150 applicants on the community housing waiting list in Kalgoorlie-Boulder alone, the government must address the demand for shelter as a matter of urgency.
“This is a systemic issue and one that is reflected across regional WA by unacceptable wait times, which in some parts of the state such as West Kimberley far exceed two years on average.”
