State Budget Must Address Housing

As WA prepared for the release of the state budget on the afternoon of Thursday 7 May, housing was once again front and centre of the conversation. A major pre-budget announcement from the state government promises a $2 billion dollar investment that will deliver 34,000 new homes over the next eight years… But will this help the housing crisis? What about a plan for more affordable housing? No Place for Poverty, a not for profit organisation committed to raising awareness and driving action against poverty and inequality in Western Australia, believes the state government should do more to tackle the lack of quality housing in the state and they believe that social housing should reach 10% of all homes. This is taking into account that none of the 34,000 new homes will be social housing, the poverty rate has increased to 1 in 7 Australians, the social housing waitlist is now over 23,000 and rents are north of $700 a week with very low vacancies.

Beth Mackiewicz chats with Alex Hughes.