Some cost-of-living relief but few surprises for Great Southern in WA Budget

There were few surprises for the Great Southern in last week’s State Budget, as Housing Minister John Carey was put in the hot seat over what was being done to ease the region’s unrelenting housing woes. Premier Mark McGowan handed down his second Budget as Treasurer on Thursday, revealing WA was on track to record a $5.7 billion operating surplus in 2021-22. The Budget included $158.3 million for regional health and mental health initiatives, $12b for regional infrastructure and $349.2m for country school upgrades over the next four years. Great Southern projects specifically named in the Budget included $4.6m for maintenance on Walpole’s Valley of the Giants Treetop Walk, $4.2m for the Katanning Research Station, $13m for the Albany General Dental Clinic, continued funding for the $175m Albany Ring Road, and $36m for the Great Southern and Mid West Secondary Freight Network programs. Delivering a Budget briefing in Albany on Friday, Mr Carey said a $400 electricity credit for WA households would be the most significant announcement for people of the Great Southern. The Budget comes after Foodbank Albany reported a nearly 50 per cent surge in demand in the past year, with the amount of food relief distributed in February 48 per cent higher than in February 2021. The $400 energy credit means the total fees and charges paid by the “representative” WA household falls 3.8 per cent from $6380.21 last year to $6136.62 in 2022-23. However, no fees and charges were frozen meaning the price of power will rise by 2.5 per cent in July, more than the 1.75 per cent forecast in the last Budget. “I don’t think we should understate that a $400 electricity credit means that people won’t have to pay power bills for months,” Mr Carey said. Mr Carey said the State Government’s “ongoing commitment” to Albany could be seen in school and TAFE upgrades, investment in regional infrastructure including the Albany Ring Road, and record investment in health including $13m for a new Albany dental clinic. “It’s the bread and butter of State Government — roads, health and education,” he said. During public question time, Advance Housing chief executive John Lysaught asked how the State Budget would address the region’s social housing shortages, stating local services had reported the region was being treated as a “low demand area”. “Currently we are sitting at 0.8 per cent private vacancy rates in Albany, which is the equal lowest in the State, our social housing waitlist has increased by 37.5 per cent over the last two years,” he said. According to the Department of Communities, as of April 30, the average wait time for public housing in Albany was 117 weeks and 55 weeks for priority applicants. Mr Carey disputed the idea that the Great Southern was considered a low priority for social housing, with 30 already announced new social homes at various stages of design, delivery and construction for the region. Six modular homes will be delivered in the Great Southern before the end of the year, and 31 residential lots in the Clydesdale Park estate in Albany are soon to be released with four of those designated for social housing. The Spencer Park renewal project would deliver eight new social housing units, Mr Carey said. “I am deeply aware, very cognisant and doing everything I can to deliver more social housing and boost general housing supply but the harsh reality is that we also face significant constraints in terms of the construction sector,” he said. “But I am trying to pivot our agency and organisation to deliver any which way we can.”