MORE THAN 100 SOCIAL HOMES SITTING VACANT DURING HOUSING CRISIS

WA Labor is letting down the people of Geraldton, with Opposition questions revealing the State Government currently have 106 social homes vacant in the City of Greater Geraldton.

Shadow Minister for Housing Sandra Brewer and Nationals Geraldton MLA Kirrilee Warr said the figures expose the Cook Labor Government’s failure to deliver on housing, and failure to deliver for the regions.

“In the midst of a housing crisis, the State Government have 106 properties - 64 of which are waiting to be refurbished, and 42 sitting doing nothing,” Ms Brewer said.

“These could be used immediately to ease the pain for many households doing it tough in Geraldton.”

Ms Warr said the Cook Labor Government’s housing failures were on full display in Geraldton.

“They simply cannot and do not want to deliver for regional Western Australia,” she said.

“These properties have been vacant for an average of 56 weeks, amounting to over a century of lost tenancies for Geraldton households.

Recent Productivity Commission data shows state-wide turnaround times for vacant public housing have skyrocketed in WA, ballooning out to over 93 days, nearly two months more than larger states. Not since 2020-21 has Western Australia achieved an average turnaround below 40 days, in line with other states.1

“This is a total disaster of social housing turnaround, though unfortunately this has been the trend in Western Australia with Housing Minister John Carey proving incapable at the helm,” Ms Brewer said.

REIWA reports Geraldton’s rental vacancy rate sits at just 0.4 per cent, well below the 2.5 to 3.5 per cent range considered a balanced market.2

“The Minister has made it clear that Geraldton is an afterthought – how much longer do we have to wait for these properties be returned to service and what is happening to the ones unaccounted for?” Ms Warr said.

Housing Minister John Carey says 64 of the vacant properties were being ‘returned to service’ through maintenance, refurbishment or the tenant placement process.

“This returning-to-service backlog in Geraldton is simply unacceptable and exposes the Minister’s deep failures at basic service delivery,” Ms Brewer said.
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1 Report on Government Services 2024-25
2 https://reiwa.com.au/the-wa-market/rental-vacancy-rates/
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Media contact: Graham Mason – 0419 194 79