Housing—Supply
727. Mrs Magenta Marshall to the Minister for Housing and Works:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to ensuring that all Western Australians have the security that a home provides.
(1) Can the minister update the house on the recent release of additional residential lots?
(2) Is the minister aware of anyone who does not support plans to increase housing supply?
Mr John Carey replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for her question. As members know, we are doing everything we can to boost housing supply.
Mr Basil Zempilas interjected.
The Speaker: Leader of the Opposition!
Mr John Carey: We recognise that a critical part of that equation is getting land out the door. Earlier this year, our government announced the largest land release in a decade of more than 600 hectares of residential housing across Karnup and Eglinton. That was about offering 6,000 new residential lots, including the potential for 900 social homes, over two sites close to major infrastructure.
Just last week we reached a milestone when we announced the landmark Karnup project and named Mirvac as the preferred partner with DevelopmentWA. These are generational investments that will ensure that an extraordinary number of houses will be built and secure 20 years of housing supply in the south-west corridor, which we know is critical with AUKUS coming over the horizon. This is just one of many initiatives that we have rolled out this year, which include the Housing Innovation Fund and the Regional Housing Support Fund. We have introduced new Keystart projects and the Build to Rent Kickstart Fund. There is major construction underway on critical projects like the Smith Street Build-To-Rent Project and we have purchased Fraser Suites to convert it to social and affordable housing. The data from the ABS also shows extraordinary growth in the number of approvals and completions.
While we are focused on delivering for Western Australians, let us compare that with members on the other side. We know that the Liberal leader produces really slick and scripted videos for social media; we are guaranteed of that. My message to Western Australians is to not buy what he is selling because, when tested, the Liberals vote against renters' rights and cannot set a social housing target. The Liberal leader has form in shutting down a women's shelter. It is equivalent to online Christmas scams—it really is. I must confess that I was subjected to that recently. I was doing my online shopping and, unfortunately, just like Basil Zempilas, I came across something—
The Speaker: Minister, can you please refer to the member as the Leader of the Opposition?
Mr John Carey: Yes.
I came across something that appeared to be too good to be true. I spent $62 on a 3D Christmas statue that I was going to put in my front yard. It was the Basil Zempilas of Temu. Unfortunately, what I got in the mail was something very different. Just like Basil Zempilas—
The Speaker: Minister, please refer to the Leader of the Opposition with his correct title.
Mr John Carey: Just like the Liberal leader, it is flimsy, it does not work very well and, of course, it has no depth at all. That is the truth. We have seen it all year. The truth is that the Liberal leader is the Temu of WA politics. He has a lot of scripting for social media such as TikTok and he delivers the lines beautifully well, but we know that there is no value and no depth behind it. He feigns concern about the housing market, he expresses concern about women doing it tough on the streets and he feigns concern about renters, but every time he is tested, he fails. He cannot name social housing targets and the Liberal Party votes against renters' rights. Ultimately, his signature legacy at the City of Perth—it will always be a stain on his tenure—is that at a time of a critical issue, he buckled and shut down a women's shelter.
