Push for service worker homes as Broome president calls on local MP to ‘knock down doors’ for rent crisis fix

Shire of Broome president Harold Tracey has hit out at the State Government’s response to the region’s housing crisis, calling for vacant Government Regional Officer Housing homes to be used as emergency accommodation. Mr Tracey said “even one home” would make a difference in the current market, where at the time of print there were just eight properties available in town. It comes after it was revealed in State Parliament in June there were 27 vacant GROH properties in Broome, 21 of which had been leased from the private market. As of last Thursday, seven GROH homes were vacant. “I think even one house is significant at the moment, isn’t it,” he said. “GROH housing being empty is not something new, there’s reports of people living next to GROH houses that have been vacant for more than two years. “As taxpayers in this State are paying for the rent of those houses, I’m sure they could be used to try and keep people in town.” Housing Minister John Carey said there was no short-term solution to the situation. “I understand this is a difficult situation, but unfortunately there are no simple or short-term solutions,” he said. “The squeeze being experienced on housing in Broome is also being felt across the entire State and the country. “We need more housing stock, and right now there are more homes in the pipeline to be built in Western Australia than we have seen in many years.” Cr Tracey said the State Government had failed to spend money on housing in Broome in the past five years. “They’ll come out and say yes we did this and that, but if you look at actual houses on ground and the amount of houses taken out of circulation that are empty or demolished, we are certainly behind the eight-ball,” he said. “We need a significant commitment from the State. They’ve done a lot in Kununurra but we’ve missed out. I’d like to see the State work with us to make that happen. “I haven’t spoken to Divina (D’Anna, Kimberley MLA), but it will be something I will do. I want her to knock some doors down in Perth and get some action.” Opposition Leader Mia Davies last week urged the State Government to build service workers’ accommodation, similar to Warambie Estate and Osprey Village in the Pilbara. Warambie was introduced to enable non-resources workers to access affordable accommodation in the inflated boom-time Pilbara housing markets. Mr Carey said Osprey Village was a disaster. “It was a botched job that was rushed, never had a proper business case and when it was all said and done, came in $95 million over budget,” he said. “Measures such as the $20,000 Building Bonus Grant, expansion to the eligibility criteria for Keystart and our $116 million regional land booster program have helped stimulate the strongest annual growth in new home building approvals on record. “According to ABS statistics, homes approved for construction in Broome for this financial year are up 145 per cent compared to the entire financial year in 2019-20.”