Opposition calls for John Carey to be stripped of other portfolios to focus on WA’s housing crisis

Shadow housing minister Steve Martin has urged WA Premier Mark McGowan to transfer the local government portfolio away from John Carey so he can focus solely on the Statewide rental crisis. Mr Martin said the State Government needed to urgently develop a plan to deal with the shortage in rental accommodation. “The likelihood of such a plan being developed is severely diminished if Minister Carey continues to hold the local government portfolio which is also in crisis, as highlighted by the recent damning Auditor General’s report into the Department of Local Government,” he said. “As a new minister, Mr Carey will simply find it overwhelming to deal competently with two crises at the same time. “The housing crisis urgently needs the singular focus of Minister Carey, with rental prices going through the roof in all parts of Western Australia, affecting the most vulnerable in our society.” At time of print there were just 10 rental listings in Broome, with two of those single-bedroom villas. “In Perth, for example, rents are now rising at nearly 15 times the rate of inflation,” Mr Martin said. “It is not just Perth where rents are surging due to a rock bottom vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent. Vacancy rates are even lower in regional centres. “In Broome and Kalgoorlie, for example, vacancy rates are nearly half the rate of Perth at just 0.5 per cent. “Minister Carey needs to release a plan that will detail how we can provide a major injection of rental supply, including State-owned housing at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.” In response to Mr Martin’s comments, Mr Carey said the State Government was doing all it could to ease pressure on the rental market. “On the back of measures put in place by the McGowan Government such as the $20,000 Building Bonus Grant, expanded eligibility for Keystart and our $116 million Regional Land Booster program, we have seen the largest 12-month growth in new home building approvals on record,” he said. “In Broome, we are seeing a significant increase in new home building. To March of this financial year, there have been 32 new homes approved for construction, compared to 20 in the previous financial year. “This represents a 60 per cent increase, with three months’ worth of home building approvals still to come.”