Housing waiting list grows

The number of people waiting for public housing in Albany and the Great Southern has swelled to near-record levels.

Statistics provided by the Department of Housing also show that prospective State Government tenants are spending a record amount of time waiting.

In trends that mirror similar developments elsewhere in WA, the figures reveal there were 680 applicants on the public housing waiting list as at June 30 this year.

The figure, although slightly down on the previous year, is significantly higher than five years ago, when there were 505 people waiting in the region.

Albany recorded a steady rise of applications between 2006-07 and 2010-11. According to the department, the number of people waiting increased from 331 at June 30, 2007 to more than 480 by the end of June this year.

As the number waiting grew, the time spent on the list in the Great Southern blew out in the past 12 months by almost double.

While applicants were only expected to wait about 54 weeks as at June 30, 2010, this was almost 90 weeks by June 30 this year.

In Albany, there was a similar increase, although waiting times were lower this year than 2006-07.

The department was unable to explain the figures, but pointed to its landmark development at Bayonet Head as evidence it was trying to tackle the squeeze.

The project, which will involve developing 2300 low-cost lots and providing one out of every 12 “dwelling units” as public housing, has already seen more than 150 parcels of land released.

“The recently released State Affordable Housing Strategy aimed to provide more affordable housing options for all Western Australians,” department spokesman Steve Altham said.

“A number of the lots at Oyster Harbour will be priced within the reach of first-homebuyers to allow them to enter the housing market.

“Public-private partnerships are an important element of the strategy and the joint venture at Oyster Harbour is a great example of the strategy at work.”