Housing, the hot topic in Port Hedland

Shelter WA presented at the recent Hedland Housing Solutions Summit as well as meeting with service providers on the ground in Port and South Hedland.

Regional Engagement

Shelter WA received a COVID-19 grant from Lotterywest to develop a regional engagement framework across the nine regions, recently appointing a Regional Engagement Manager to drive this work.

To kick off the regional focus, Shelter WA visited South Hedland based members Bloodwood Tree Association and Foundation Housing to hear first-hand about the current pressures they’re experiencing and what’s needed to drive solutions.

“They know the pressures.”

The team also met with the Hedland Women’s Refuge, Pilbara Meta Maya, Youth Involvement Council and Pilbara Community Legal Services.

“It was wonderful catching up with some of the agencies in Town of Port Hedland who are changing the lives for thousands of people across the Pilbara through their incredible services. The feedback was consistent – housing shortages are impacting on their staff, services and the people they work with – they know the pressures, what’s needed and are critical to delivering good place-based solutions,” CEO of Shelter WA Michelle Mackenzie said of the visits.

Hedland Housing Solutions Summit

Shelter WA also presented on opportunities to address housing issues at a Hedland Housing Solutions Summit hosted by the Town of Port Hedland and facilitated by Shelter WA member Anna Kelderman from Shape Urban. This included short, medium and long-term solutions such as utilising modular housing and vacant land or seeing how targeted changes to stamp duty could facilitate investment in new supply. Critical to all initiatives is an agreed evidence-based plan to enable all agencies to align effort and work to a common goal.

The Summit focused on inspiring a collective impact approach amongst agencies to share ideas and identify solutions to ease Hedland’s housing challenges.

Shelter WA shared current data on social housing supply and demand and median rental increases, the pressures of local agencies and opportunities to leverage investment through Community Housing, National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) finance and new land tenure options in WA.

Regional Engagement Manager Rhiannon Bristow-Stagg said: “Shelter WA looks forward to an ongoing partnership to develop a priortised and evidence-based plan for social and affordable housing delivery that draws on local knowledge and unlocks value from the community housing sector.”