South West real estate agent says planning and tax systems ‘f...... ridiculous,’ candidates should do more

A South West real estate agent has hit out at the State Government, claiming planning and tax systems are “f...... ridiculous” and have fanned the flames of the housing crisis. Less than three weeks out from the State election, Dunsborough-based real estate agent and REIWA regional spokesperson Joe White is calling on the major parties to do more to fix the housing crisis plaguing regional WA. He said the “failures of policies” was having a major impact on the market, with residents across the State falling victim to a housing crisis. “We are 25,000 houses short of what we require to deal with the 170-odd thousand people who have come into the State in the last three years,” Mr White said. “Every time a high wage-earner comes in, someone on the margin gets tipped out on to the streets. “The rental shortage is absolutely acute and if we don’t address it, we will be in a state of inter-generational poverty at the most vulnerable end.” Mr White said the State Government needed to “stop creating an increasingly impossible planning system” in order to streamline the process. “At the end of the day, there is one solution to this and that is increasing supply,” he said. “That is going to require some major policy initiatives with the two main ones being tax and planning. “Both of those issues are so broken, we literally need to shoot them and start again. In other words, what we’d like to see is to see some initiatives from all major parties that are going to address the issues of housing supply. “Streamlining the process to get more internet, power, sewage, water and Main Road connections so those marginal housing and land developments become viable and that there’s incentive to actually create supply. “It is f…... ridiculous and a failure of policy. This is such a solvable problem. “It’ll be a vote winner (in the upcoming election) if the 25 to 35-year-olds can afford a house and find one to buy.” With the State election calling people to the polls in a few short weeks, the three major parties have all pledged to address the crisis in the South West. WA Labor has promised $3.1 million to increase Bunbury’s Housing First Support Services, while Liberals WA have pledged $100m for regional housing infrastructure and the ease of stamp duty for first-homebuyers across the State. Nationals WA have pledged $10m Statewide for regional homelessness and promised to abolish stamp duty for first-homebuyers. They have also committed to establishing Home Build Relief Payment to support WA families whose builds have been under construction for more than two years, as well as a $1 billion Regional Headworks Fund for Western Australia. Homelessness has been impacting many regional centres across the State, with the South West no trendsetter. However, as the housing markets soars with new buyers and holiday home appeal, the region is under pressure. Spokesperson for the Bunbury Advocating for Homelessness working group Ingrid Hilario said homeless people who had no fixed address were slipping through the gaps of current programs. She said people needed to “cheat” the system to have any hope of finding a stable roof over their heads. “When you don’t have an address, you have nothing. Without an address, you are nothing,” Ms Hilario said. “You always need an address. When you don’t have one, you can’t get any official correspondence. “You have to have somebody who will give you an address, even if you don’t live there. Ms Hilario said being homeless could also be expensive, making it a hard cycle to break out of. “They haven’t got a fridge, so they buy new food everyday. They haven’t got a freezer either and they can’t profit from any special offers because where would you put it?” she said. “They can’t cook because if they go to the parks and use the barbecues, they don’t have any cooking vessels or anything to clean with. “Kids who live in cars are frightened at school others will find out they are homeless.” The State election is on March 8.