Houses empty despite shortage
Ryan Emery | August 18, 2008
RESOURCE companies are leaving houses empty for months at a time in the West Australian mining town of Port Hedland, which is in the grip of an accommodation crisis.
Tom Stephens, the Labor member for the Pilbara, said he had come across empty houses while campaigning for the coming state election, not only in Port Hedland, 1800km north of Perth, but in other mining towns in the state's northwest such as Newman and Tom Price.
He believed some houses were empty for up to 18 months while resource companies tried to fill vacant positions.
"It's because these companies are distracted by the huge task and pressure they're under, but regrettably they cause problems for the community because of the policies that leave houses empty while others are desperate for them," Mr Stephens said.
The full extent of Port Hedland's infrastructure crisis is the subject of tonight's Four Corners program on the ABC.
Journalist Matt Carney visited the Pilbara town and spoke to locals, as well as blow-ins looking for work, about the town's severe accommodation shortage and the mounting pressure on local infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
Mr Stephens said the pressure on the town was immense.
"The experience of what we've got in the Pilbara has never been shared by anyone else on the planet," he said.
Middle- to low-income earners in Port Hedland are sleeping in cars, tents and homeless shelters, because they have nowhere else to go.
Rents in Port Hedland can reach $900 a week for a three-bedroom townhouse or $1300 for a three-bedroom house.
Port Hedland native Dave told Four Corners: "This is my home town and I can't find accommodation."
He said he had a job, but lived in the town's homeless shelter.
Another said the only thing to like about the town was the money, because there was "not a lot else here".
West Australian Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan, who was interviewed for the program, said the Government had been taking action by releasing land, but had been restricted by environmental constraints, including dust accumulation and protecting turtle populations.
Ms MacTiernan said $150 million would be spent on a new hospital and $160million on realigning the town, which is effectively in two halves.
Temporary portable accommodation and schemes where local businesses can purchase land cheaply to build accommodation for their staff are some of the models Ms MacTiernan has presented to the Town of Port Hedland and local businesses.
"We know that there are housing issues. We've been trying to resolve them," she said.
"We've been trying to come up with new models that will satisfy the needs up there."
Ryan Emery | August 18, 2008
RESOURCE companies are leaving houses empty for months at a time in the West Australian mining town of Port Hedland, which is in the grip of an accommodation crisis.
Tom Stephens, the Labor member for the Pilbara, said he had come across empty houses while campaigning for the coming state election, not only in Port Hedland, 1800km north of Perth, but in other mining towns in the state's northwest such as Newman and Tom Price.
He believed some houses were empty for up to 18 months while resource companies tried to fill vacant positions.
"It's because these companies are distracted by the huge task and pressure they're under, but regrettably they cause problems for the community because of the policies that leave houses empty while others are desperate for them," Mr Stephens said.
The full extent of Port Hedland's infrastructure crisis is the subject of tonight's Four Corners program on the ABC.
Journalist Matt Carney visited the Pilbara town and spoke to locals, as well as blow-ins looking for work, about the town's severe accommodation shortage and the mounting pressure on local infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
Mr Stephens said the pressure on the town was immense.
"The experience of what we've got in the Pilbara has never been shared by anyone else on the planet," he said.
Middle- to low-income earners in Port Hedland are sleeping in cars, tents and homeless shelters, because they have nowhere else to go.
Rents in Port Hedland can reach $900 a week for a three-bedroom townhouse or $1300 for a three-bedroom house.
Port Hedland native Dave told Four Corners: "This is my home town and I can't find accommodation."
He said he had a job, but lived in the town's homeless shelter.
Another said the only thing to like about the town was the money, because there was "not a lot else here".
West Australian Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan, who was interviewed for the program, said the Government had been taking action by releasing land, but had been restricted by environmental constraints, including dust accumulation and protecting turtle populations.
Ms MacTiernan said $150 million would be spent on a new hospital and $160million on realigning the town, which is effectively in two halves.
Temporary portable accommodation and schemes where local businesses can purchase land cheaply to build accommodation for their staff are some of the models Ms MacTiernan has presented to the Town of Port Hedland and local businesses.
"We know that there are housing issues. We've been trying to resolve them," she said.
"We've been trying to come up with new models that will satisfy the needs up there."