Greens Demand WA Labor Action on Homelessness Strategy
The Greens (WA) have successfully forced the Cook Labor Government to detail how it is tracking on delivering on its own commitments to end the homelessness crisis in WA.
In the Legislative Council this afternoon, Greens’ spokesperson for housing and homelessness Tim Clifford moved a motion calling on the government to report back on their progress towards implementing the recommendations of a 2023 inquiry into the funding of homelessness services.
The inquiry into the Funding of Homelessness Services in Western Australia, which was conducted by the Standing Committee on Estimates and Financial Operations, handed down its final report more than two years ago. The government’s formal response to that report broadly supported almost all 57 recommendations.
Today’s motion passed unanimously without division. The Cook Labor Government must table a response in the Legislative Council on September 18th that details their progress on implementing the report’s recommendations.
WA’s homelessness crisis has gone backwards on almost every measure under the Cook Labor Government, which has fallen short of delivering on its own 10-year strategy All Paths Lead to a Home. Since WA Labor took government in 2017, homelessness has increased by nearly 10 percent and rough sleeping has more than doubled despite a target to end the latter by 2025.
As stated by Tim Clifford MLC, Greens WA spokesperson for housing and homelessness:
“Today the Greens (WA) sent a clear message to the Cook Labor Government: you will be held to account for the homelessness crisis you’ve helped to create.
“The unanimous support in the Legislative Council for our motion this afternoon speaks volumes not only to the urgency of the homelessness crisis in WA, but the government’s failure to meaningfully tackle it.
“While Premier Cook claims his government is ‘laser focused’ on ensuring everyone in WA has a home, the statistics show otherwise.
“Around 2,300 Western Australians will sleep rough tonight and more than 35,000 people are represented on the public housing waitlist, yet the government has committed more money to the NRL in their latest budget than they have to homelessness services.
“This is an active decision to allow vulnerable people to fall through the cracks, and it will not stand.
“I look forward to reviewing the government’s progress towards implementing the recommendations made in the inquiry’s report two years ago, and I thank the members of the Legislative Council for recognising the importance of this motion.”
https://greens.org.au/wa/news/media-release/greens-hold-wa-labor-account-homelessness-strategy