Published on Thursday, 28 March 2024 at 9:25:00 AM
To the Editor,
Thank you for the Esperance Weekender story, Housing shortage ‘affects police numbers’ on Friday 15 March, bringing this vitally important topic to the attention of our community.
The Shire of Esperance would like to respond to a Department of Communities (DoC) quote in this article.
The story notes Shire CEO Shane Burge as saying “the last Shire housing study showed a lack of around 23 GROH houses in Esperance”, and a DoC spokesman is quoted saying “this is not correct”.
The DoC spokesman is right. The Study does not show a lack of around 23 GROH houses in Esperance – it shows a lack of 25 GROH houses as per the table below, found on page 20 of the Esperance Land, Housing and Accommodation Study.
The Shire of Esperance, in partnership with the Goldfields Esperance Development Commission (GEDC), invested in the Esperance Land, Housing and Accommodation Study to deliver an essential resource for private business, all levels of Government, and Council to refer to when planning any accommodation related project. The Study gives an understanding of the accommodation needs and opportunities across industry and community sectors in this region, and facilitates work to meet the needs of current and future residents, visitors and short-term workers. This study was carried out by an independent firm specialising in complex urban and regional affairs and policy-related work and is available to view or download from the Shire webpage here.
Page 20 of the Esperance Land, Housing and Accommodation Study deals with GROH housing, noting the isolated nature of our region means housing is critical to ensuring appropriate government services are offered to residents.
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