Catholic Diocese of Broome

There is growing disquiet around the Kimberley towns that are currently experiencing a flow-on from the general economic boom in Western Australia. We have been watching with disbelief as the house sale and rental prices in the towns of the Pilbara have been rising so dramatically that there are no rental or sale properties available in most of them, and all the available hotel, motel and camping spots are also permanently booked out at hugely inflated prices.

The same fate is beginning to bite closer to home. This Office has been making some noises in political circles about the effects of the lack of affordable housing on the local population of a town like Broome. Some local State Members of Parliament are willing to listen to the issues and to attempt to explore some creative ways of overcoming what could become a much larger crisis affecting the social fabric of the town and even bringing its future viability as a tourist destination into doubt.

Housing is a fundamental human right guaranteed under the UN Charter of Universal Human Rights. Article 25, Section (1) says: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. This right was framed and endorsed in 1948 by member nations, with significant input from Australia. We tend at times to forget about these admirable aspirations that are seen as the right of all human beings.

In the current climate of economic boom, where the rich are getting richer and many more are being left behind, the seams of the social fabric are noticeably under increased stress. Overcrowding in existing housing with its attendant deleterious social and health consequences is becoming the norm for our Aboriginal people. Non-indigenous people needed to provide essential services are being prevented from working in town due to the lack of reasonably priced housing, either for sale or rental.

Local Government can do little to solve this problem. The release of land for development, the price at which land is provided to developers (including Homeswest), the taxes and charges levied for transactions in relation to land, the settlement of outstanding Native Title issues, decisions about affordable rental housing stock, are all matters in the hands of the State Government. Until and unless the Government is willing to make changes in their policies dealing with all these matters, things will not improve for the ‘good old Aussie battlers’ of our Kimberley towns, especially for those whose land this has been for over 40,000 years and for those who are long-term residents and their children.

Unfortunately, it is very rare for anything other than the prospect of electoral defeat to move incumbent politicians to change. Considered, concerted and concentrated lobbying by the majority of ‘ordinary’ Kimberley town residents between now and the next State election might be the only way that this desperate situation will be changed. Those who have a vested interest in allowing the ‘free market’ to flourish probably won’t be interested.^ top