Inflation, Housing Affordability, Welfare and the Mining Boom

Inflation, Housing Affordability, Welfare and the Mining Boom
4th March 2008

Housing prices have tripled in Western Australia over the last 8 years and we have seen very little action taken on dealing with this issue with the Western Australian State Government. Rather, they have built a ‘wonderful’ railway line to Mandurah. In the mean time Environmentalists and Native land claims have also contributed to the acute shortage of land in this state, where, once the land is claimed, is used as a tool to make royalties from mining or agriculture for Native ‘Owners’. I have never heard of a person on this planet being entitled to land like this. Of course the Indians have their reservations, but nothing like the ridiculous amounts of land liquidation we have seen all over Australia.
If Aborigines wish to benefit from our Economy, they must do this one, plain, simple thing. If they wish to have the ‘land’, then so be it, but never shall a person who lives or partially lives on that land should receive any welfare or Government money.
Otherwise, negotiations must resume directly with the Government to return this issue to a sane balance, where only 10% of land in Australia at maximum shall be ‘titled’ to native recipients. And then we should not allow welfare to be handed out to the natives or anyone any more. Welfare was meant to tide people over, but these days it helps people buy big TVs, alcohol and helps immigrants to exploit our economy courtesy of hard working Australians.
Whoever wishes to confront this problem effectively, shall have to hit the environmentalists on the head (the EPA) and the Native Land Title Claimants, current and receivers. We should not allow minority groups to determine Government policy where the Government merely becomes puppets to set themselves in front of media to look as though something is being done.
Housing in the North West is extremely expensive and this alongside Aborigine public housing, often wrecked and Government money kept being poured on the ‘social’ problem to take responsibility for the houses. So you have an extremely unfair situation unfolding, where workers (non-indigenous-Very few are Aborigine even though Government programs are encouraging ‘equal opportunity’) are working very hard for high wages, yet are being punished with the cost of living. The Aborigines get a free ride in their Government supplied housing, and usually are on welfare. They don’t earn any money, amongst a worker shortage, and are using Government money to live. Where is the logic in this? We have become a social state where we don’t think logically. No wonder there is no common sense around.
The Railway stations in Perth should be developed so that apartment/hotel/shopping centres are built on top of all of them, thus making use of the public transport system. The Public transport system should be re-worked as well so that buses are used to ‘feed’ train stations (buses feeding from the same main road every 5-10 minutes in peak hour), and industrial/commercial areas enjoying heavy bus services so that people can get to work easily using public transport. This would mean buses making a round route service from a nearby train station often, especially in peak periods. This would also allow less cars to be used in these busy areas where the mining boom is making them busier.
The Train station mega-complexes would envelop better car parking as well, and the vast amount of permanent accommodation to be made available would lower the demand in outer suburbs, thus curbing inflation. Releasing free land in the North West would do the same for the Perth Metropolitan area, but we need to concentrate in dense residential in the Northwest cities of Port Hedland, Karratha, Broome, Kununurra and as well as Perth. Allowing developers to build triple story townhouses thus making better use of less land in the Perth Metro would also be a good solution to the demand of accomodation in Western Australia. Unfortunately, with the cost of housing all over Western Australia (which is the least populated state per square kilometre yet the largest in Australia), we are going to see some very painful financial times ahead, unless a Western Australian Government determines to make the tough decisions to go ahead and do what needs to be done. Supply demand.

In the mining boom, this will need to be on those terms, ‘boom’, which is massive.

The worker shortage in this state is absolutely contributing to housing demand (and supply shortages). It is the Government’s responsibility to act accordingly and manage this responsibly. This hasn’t occurred and we are going to wear the consequences.