Albany businesses grill State election hopefuls on worker shortages, housing pressures

Worker shortages, housing pressures and WA’s action on climate change came under the microscope this week as Albany business leaders questioned their 2021 State election candidates. Six of the 12 faces vying for the Seat of Albany were put in the hot seat at Motel Le Grande on Tuesday, at the Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Meet the Candidates Breakfast. The Liberal Party’s Scott Leary, The Nationals WA’s Delma Baesjou, One Nation’s Michelle Kinsella, WA Labor’s Rebecca Stephens, Liberal Democrats’ Mal Dodson and The Greens WA’s Nelson Gilmour fielded questions from the crowd. Candidates were grilled on the future of WA’s Aboriginal Rangers program, support for Aboriginal communities, their parties’ plans to combat climate change, and candidates’ stance on enforcing COVID-19 vaccinations. All candidates urged immediate action on climate change, but Greens WA candidate Mr Gilmour hit back at his competition, claiming their promises were “baby steps” and the State needed to make a “rapid transition” towards green industries. ACCI chief executive Benita Cattalini called for clarity on how candidates would tackle the region’s worker shortages while juggling housing shortages. All candidates agreed on the need to increase support for TAFE to create more training and re-training opportunities. Liberal Democrats candidate Mr Dodson pushed his party’s vision to create a Special Economic Zone in Albany, noting increased investment in training was needed to “create a large labour pool for hospitality and agriculture”. Labor’s Ms Stephens suggested more people might need to consider living in surrounding areas such as Mt Barker or the Porongurup while the region faced a housing shortage. “It is a problem, but it is a great problem to have for Albany,” she said. One Nation’s Ms Kinsella said education, cutting red tape and “looking outside the box” for different housing opportunities were needed. Ms Kinsella suggested the use of sea containers to create community-style housing developments. Nationals WA’s Ms Baesjou said her party would help build a better relationship between the Department of Communities and DevelopmentWA to drive funding for public housing. “At the moment there is a crazy battle over how the resources are allocated to build public housing developments on vacant land in Spencer Park, and we need to get on and move forward,” she said. Liberals’ Mr Leary said the current housing boom would help, but he was pushing party leader Zak Kirkup to address Albany’s housing issue.