Home

Mid West MPs call on McGowan Government to help with housing and power issues post-cyclone Seroja

Phoebe PinMidwest Times
GEN Cyclone damage at Kalbarri. Pic. Iain Gillespie The West Australian
Camera IconGEN Cyclone damage at Kalbarri. Pic. Iain Gillespie The West Australian Credit: The West Australian

Getting builders to the Mid West and restoring power to farmers must be the immediate priorities to support cyclone-affected communities, according to the local MPs representing the devastated areas.

Based in Carnarvon, North West Central MP Vince Catania has been helping Kalbarri residents repair damage and clear debris left by cyclone Seroja last week.

Mr Catania said many families would be displaced while their homes were being repaired, and urged the State Government to prioritise construction work in Kalbarri.

“We all know there is a shortage out there, so perhaps the Premier needs to work out some incentives to get some of those builders and tradies from over east,” he said.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

“It’s all about how we can get Kalbarri operating again as a tourism town, and that’s where we need accommodation to be built.

“There is the ability to put dongas on certain properties which will assist in the accommodation so we can try and eventually free up the hotels and motels once they get fixed and allow them to have people back in.

“There are government agencies that are going to be around there for a while, so accommodation is going to be a big issue and that’s where the Government needs to put some of those funds to make it happen pretty quickly.”

Mr Catania said businesses would also need support such as tax relief to survive in the absence of tourists.

“We need to look at what the State Government can do to relax some of those taxes to allow those businesses to cover those massive overheads,” he said.

“Perhaps the Government should be waiving at least 12 months of ‘toilet tax’ for those businesses given the fact that they rely on tourists and the tourists are not going to be there for some while.”

GEN Mingenew farmer Fiona Cossgrove with her sons Hamish (4) and Simon (8) with her cyclone damaged shed.. Pic. Iain Gillespie The West Australian
Camera IconGEN Mingenew farmer Fiona Cossgrove with her sons Hamish (4) and Simon (8) with her cyclone damaged shed.. Pic. Iain Gillespie The West Australian Credit: The West Australian

Member for Moore and new WA Deputy Opposition Leader Shane Love said some farmers in his electorate were now having trouble pumping water for livestock, and the restoration of power to these areas must be a priority.

“There is still thousands of people without power, and for some of the farming areas it is going to be a long time before they are going to get access to power again,” he said.

“At the moment we are looking at a situation where people are relying on generators for months and weeks at least.”

Mr Love said he was concerned some regional farming families who had lost homes would be forced to relocate if accommodation was not provided soon.

“I know of families who are essentially homeless... I have a grave concerns that some of these people will have it suggested to them that it would be easier for them to move to another area.

“We want these communities to thrive and go forward not to shrink.”

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails