Perth has re-opened a contentious women's shelter in Northbridge
The City of Perth has approved the re-opening of a contentious women's shelter in Northbridge, three months after it closed, but the fight is far from over.
Category
đź“ş
TVTranscript
00:00 A political tit-for-tat over an overnight safe space for women is nearing its end.
00:06 The City of Perth has approved its operating from here on Northbridge's fringes begrudgingly,
00:11 three months after the original version in East Perth closed.
00:15 I am on the record as saying I'm not certain that it is the best possible location, but
00:20 I'm also well aware it's the only location on the table.
00:24 The approval comes with some conditions which the Council will oversee.
00:29 Given a tense relationship, Rua, which runs the service, is worried.
00:33 Conversation last night at Council around breaches of compliance and going to magistrates
00:38 courts filled me with a sense of anxiety.
00:41 I've seen the debates.
00:43 I am concerned about the impartiality of the City of Perth to be the responsible authority.
00:51 He's pointed the finger at Lord Mayor Basil Zemplis who's almost certain to become the
00:55 Liberals candidate in Churchlands after nominations closed without any opponents.
01:00 Mr Zemplis says he's focused on the City of Perth and looking after neighbours who have
01:04 raised concerns.
01:05 What that feedback will enable us to do is just to provide reminders.
01:09 Say guys, this needs to be done, that needs to be done.
01:12 The way that anybody operating in our city has to operate under city conditions.
01:16 But it's far from the only issue facing the homelessness sector.
01:19 We've got a wait list over ten years.
01:22 The Goldfields Indigenous Housing Organisation has four blocks of land like this but say
01:26 they need funding to develop it.
01:29 It may not look like much but this earth is rare earth.
01:34 The opportunity is massive.
01:36 They're one of dozens of homelessness organisations across the state struggling to keep up with
01:40 demand.
01:41 Between 2022 and 2023 we saw a 60% increase in the number of daily presentations at Trambie.
01:48 We've got a healthy budget, healthy surplus and now is the time for us to focus some of
01:54 that into homelessness.
01:55 Just this January we announced nearly a $50 million boost for homelessness services in
02:02 Western Australia.
02:04 Any further measures will be considered of course as part of the budget process.
02:09 That's not until May, a long time away for those in need now.
02:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]