STATE GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF COVERING UP SOCIAL HOUSING EVICTIONS

BY GERARD MAZZA

107 people died homeless on the streets of Perth in 2022, according to campaign group House the Homeless WA. Credit: Daniel Spriggs.

Housing advocates have claimed the WA Government attempted to hide data revealing that thousands of children have been evicted from public housing since Premier Mark McGowan took office in 2017.

House the Homeless WA campaigners presented the previously unreleased data this morning as evidence to the WA Parliamentary Inquiry into the Financial Administration of Homelessness Services.

Campaigners allege the McGowan government attempted to cover up the number of children evicted from public housing by underreporting the number of evictions when questioned in Parliament last year and in figures provided to the media.

In a statement, Housing Minister John Carey denied the government had tried to hide information.

“The eviction data requested was provided multiple times to the WA Parliament and further information requested by media was provided by the Department to the outlet, as requested,” he said.

In response, House the Homeless WA coordinator Jesse Noakes said the government had only included bailiff evictions when questioned on the number of children evicted, and not counted evictions that occurred via Termination Notice or Court Order.

“I have personally received a response to a media request in which one figure has been provided in the body of the release and then Track Changes have revealed a table with the full, larger figure for evictions was deleted from the response during the Department's editing process,” Mr Noakes said.

More than 50% of people evicted from public housing in WA each year are Aboriginal, despite making up 25% of public housing tenants, according to data previously confirmed to Ngaarda Media by the Department of Communities.

Housing advocate Dr Betsy Buchanan told the parliamentary inquiry that social housing evictions had far-reaching consequences for Aboriginal people and led to high rates of child removal, imprisonment, and domestic violence.

“Housing is the central issue,” she said.

“If you evict one First Nations family, you’re often evicting a matriarch. She may be caring for six, seven, eight grandchildren. She’ll be sheltering homeless people. She’ll be a centre to stop them suiciding.”

Minister Carey said evictions had decreased during his time as Minister.

“I have been on the public record that the State Government, through the Department of Communities, ensures evictions from public housing are always a last resort,” he said.

Dr Buchanan recognised evictions had become less common, but said they still had serious impacts.

Mr Noakes told the inquiry there were obvious measures that could be taken to resolve WA’s homelessness crisis.

“There is, sadly, less public housing today than there was when this government took office six years ago,” he said.

“There is a very simple solution to the homelessness crisis, complex as it is. That is to provide housing to the families that need it.

“The government has taken steps in recent years to redress the serious deterioration in the housing crisis and they ought to be applauded for that, however far more still remains outstanding to be done.”

House the Homeless also tabled data at the inquiry showing 107 people died homeless on the streets of Perth in 2022.

Ngaarda Media has contacted the Department of Communities for comment.

Tangiora Hinaki