City of Greater Geraldton welcomes $10m help for housing

A $10 million investment by the State Government in a Mid West suburb has been praised by the local mayor, while the overall package for regional WA has been labelled “too little, too late” by an opposition politician.

Yesterday State Housing Minister John Carey announced the Geraldton suburb Spalding would receive half of a $20m commitment to support social housing revitalisation in suburbs in Geraldton, Bunbury and Albany.

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City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said he was extremely excited by the “significant investment” in the council and State’s joint Spalding Precinct Plan.

“When (Mr Carey) became housing minister he contacted us and asked what the priorities would be for Geraldton and we said Spalding,” he said.

“There’s no question he’s (Mr Carey) invested into a program we’ve been waiting years to deliver. It’s a real pleasure to say local and State Government are working hand-in-hand on this issue.

“This is a major step forward in addressing density in public housing and providing better thoroughfares, involving all tiers of government to address the mix of tenants to fix any issues of antisocial behaviour.”

Mr Van Styn said the City would review its funding and enter into further negotiations with the State to meet its responsibilities of the plan including park renovations, footpaths and works on local roads.

The funding was part of the $875m pledged from the upcoming State Budget, to be handed down tomorrow, which also includes 275 new regional social housing properties in less than two years.

Shadow housing minister Steve Martin said the number of new builds in regional areas was not enough.

“Although I welcome the much-needed investment into regional Western Australia, it is too little, too late,” he said.

“The 275 new builds will not cover the shortfall of homes in country WA. With building material shortages around the country, there is no guarantee they will even be completed within two years.

“Regional towns around Western Australia are bearing the brunt of the housing shortage but have had no support from this Labor Government and have been left to fend for themselves.”