Minister says State is ‘throwing kitchen sink’ at Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s housing crisis; Mayor wants more sinks

Housing Minister John Carey says he knows housing is a critical issue in the Goldfields and the State is “throwing the kitchen sink” at every opportunity to boost housing supply. However, Kalgoorlie-Boulder mayor Glenn Wilson says he would like to see bathroom, laundry and “any other sinks” the State is prepared to throw, to help bring more housing opportunities to the city. Mr Carey was in town on Thursday to announce a $20 million election promise to open 42 additional independent living units for seniors at Pringle Village. He also announced a more than $30m contract with Ertech had been signed for construction works to begin on stage one of the Yilkari Industrial Park, which will expand the city’s industrial estate. When asked about residential land release, particularly up in the Greenview Estate, Mr Carey said there were still lots from the last release available and he relied on the advice of Development WA for the timing of bringing new lots to the market. “To date we’ve added around 75 social homes in GROH (Government Regional Officer Housing) to the Goldfields,” he said. “In addition, we’ve got another 17 under contract or construction. “Of course, there’s also hundreds of social homes being refurbished to help them stay in the system. “So my message to the Goldfields is, we know that housing is a critical issue, but literally, we are throwing the kitchen sink at this. “At every opportunity we’re looking at building on the measures we’ve already introduced to boost housing supply.” Speaking to the Kalgoorlie Miner on Friday, Mr Wilson said available housing options in the city continued to be “very minimal” with November figures revealing 69 rental vacancies and just over 200 properties for sale. “I would like to see not only the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, the laundry sink, and any other sink that the State Government would be prepared to throw at that,” he said. “There is still demand for people to live here and to work here, but we’ve got projects that are going on within our city and region that do require bigger workforces that just can’t be housed in the current housing market that we’ve got. “There’s also always going to be houses on the market . . . that probably aren’t attractive to people. “So we’re taking the lead where we can to develop as well as welcoming the State Government initiatives, and also, as we enter into election, any initiatives possible that are coming.” He said government funding for headworks for new developments had assisted the city with the Amara Estate on Hart Kerspien Drive and he would like to see that expanded. “The headworks that are required for many of these blocks are becoming expensive,” he said. “For council to take a role in being able to bring on blocks of land we need support through infrastructure funds. “We’d like to see that boosted up and easier access for local governments to achieve bringing those programs or those housing developments on board a lot quicker and a lot sooner.”