Surging WA rents spark call for new social housing target as essential workers priced out of market

Only 16 rentals listed in WA are within reach of the State’s childcare and hospitality workers, according to a new report that has warned high rents are forcing more families into poverty.

Anglicare WA’s latest rental affordability snapshot found that the highest-earning essential workers — ambulance officers, firefighters and teachers — could only afford two per cent of the 3523 available properties.

“The report shows that affordable accommodation for the people that we rely on as a community has dried up,” Anglicare WA chief executive Mark Glasson said.

“This is a productivity issue for Western Australia as well as a housing issue.

“If you can’t provide affordable housing, you can’t get people into those positions where they are most needed.”

The report found the rental crisis is even worse in regional WA, with zero property or rooms in Bunbury and only four that were affordable across the Kimberley and Pilbara.

Mr Glasson has called for the Cook Government to commit to a 6 per cent social housing target and to ban “no-grounds” evictions.

“We need to ensure renters have provisions that protect them in an overheated market,” he said.

“We’re simply asking for the government to step in and stop landlords evicting tenants for no reason.”

In Parliament on Wednesday, Shadow Housing Minister David Bolt said social housing has “gone backwards” under Labor.

“Under this Minister, the average wait time has sky-rocketed to 153 weeks,” he said.

“Some people are now waiting four or five years.”

Housing Minister John Carey hit back during question time.

“Western Australia is out in front, leading on housing supply and delivery,” he said.

“I want to remind people at the last election that (the Opposition), who said they were committed to social housing, their policy commitment was: we’re having what they’re having.

“They committed to our expenditure and our policies. They did not release anything in relation to social housing delivery.”

Asked by Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas “where exactly are these people meant to live” in regional WA, Roger Cook also went on the attack.

“What does the leader of the Opposition possibly care about housing, given the way that his team behaves when it comes to any new housing proposition,” the Premier said.

“Every step of the process they oppose a new housing development.

“If the Liberals and Nationals had their way they’d be dragging our planning reforms and rules back into the dark ages.”