Will any of the ideas raised so far fix Broome’s rental crisis? These are the options on the table

What to do about Broome’s rental crisis? It is the question on everyone’s lips. Several of the options on the table have precedent, mostly in the Pilbara which famously faced a housing crisis which left people having to sign up to a lottery to get a block in town during the last boom. So would any of the ideas work for Broome? Here are a few points to consider about the main contenders. Refurbished lodges Last year when Esperance became the first regional WA town to really feel the rental pinch the Shire resorted to upgrading a derelict seaside youth hostel to house workers needed for the busy summer period. The lodge opened up an extra 40 beds for local businesses to house their seasonal workers days before Christmas. The State Government contributed $40,000 to a rebuild of a local hostel in Exmouth for the same purpose too. There are disused buildings in Broome. Whether they can be made fit for purpose would have to be investigated. Pre-fab communities Karratha’s Royalties for Regions-funded Warambie Estate put 100 subsidised one, two or three-bed units for between $350 and $500 a week on the market for people not employed in the resources industry in 2010. It is modern, clean, a proper community with parks and barbecues and can be removed if ever a time comes when it is no longer needed. At $30.4 million it was money well spent, with rental income from up to 250 residents returned to the Government. Homes were pre-fabricated, allowing for a quick build, and full tenancy was reached within one year of the estate opening. Workers’ units Coral Bay’s $17.37m seasonal staff accommodation was built in 2011 and can house up to 70 workers. Attracting finance to expand the village has proved problematic for the stakeholders behind it though, and the issue has added fuel to a major rift in the tiny coastal community. Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan revealed ahead of the March election the State would fund a similar facility in Exmouth. This is tipped to add about 50 premises to the existing 12 service worker units opened in 2017 where rent is charged at either 30 per cent of gross income or market rent, whichever is cheaper. Apartment living Karratha’s Quarter apartments go for $280 a week for a shoebox, but with the current state of the market where people are paying $250 a week for a room it would be a welcome option. The central apartments opened in 2016 to much fanfare and were made available to retail, tourism and service workers. For singles or couples who don’t need a lot of room — think seasonal workers and graduates moving up for their first job — this is a great option, but for families and people with all the Kimberley toys (boat, 4WD, dog etc), it is a non-starter. Donga camps A mining-style workforce camp made up of dongas or similar demountable infrastructure would be the quickest and most cost-effective way to solve the immediate problem, but is far from an ideal long-term solution. Leaving the camp in place indefinitely would set a bad precedent, so it would eventually have to be torn down. Flashpoints would likely arise when the decision is made to remove the facility and move any tenants. Government housing There are plenty of spare rooms in government regional officer housing right across WA, so why shouldn’t the people who pay for these empty spaces — the taxpayer — fill them? Getting these on the market on short-term leases could put an immediate end to Broome’s rental crisis and allow government to control stock levels until private investors pick up the slack. Alternatively, State departments could move workers in private share houses into those spare GROH rooms to free up the private market. Either move could cause backlash from unions and existing GROH tenants not keen on sharing a government-funded house with other people though, and the government does need flexibility in its housing stock. Fiscal relief Residents, businesses, politicians, consumer groups, non-profits, government agencies ... seemingly everyone has been crying out for years for a crackdown on sky-high insurance costs in the North West. It would be nice, but it appears unlikely to happen. The jury is also out on whether this would do enough to stimulate investment. On the government side, rate relief for local governments to pass on to residents and abolishing stamp duty are popular ideas, but such moves have been opposed and any push to change taxation would take considerable time. Private investment The new property market in the North West is a basket case — the boom-bust nature of the region, high building prices, insurance and wary banks make sure of that. Even with fiscal incentives, it would not be an immediate solution due to build times and busy tradespeople.