2024-05-03
Trying to improve the Government’s marginal reforms for renters, spruiking Climate Positive Perth, calling out increasing attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community, and much more
By Hon Brad Pettitt, MLC, Member for South Metropolitan
It’s been an incredibly busy couple of months as we begin to ramp up our election preparedness for both the State and Federal elections next year, and keep on top of ongoing issues both in and out of Parliament.
The biggest of these is the housing and renting crisis. March saw the release of updated statistics that really put into perspective how dire the situation really is for the 700,000 Western Australians who rent. Rents have gone up across WA by more than 73% since March 2020 and the rental vacancy rate has not risen above 1% in that time. The rental vacancy rate currently sits at just 0.3%, a record low; 2.5-3.5% vacancy rates is considered a “healthy” rental market.
On this topic, the Cook government’s long-promised reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act finally passed the upper house. Unfortunately, the changes are largely performative and will do very little to help people when they come into effect on 1st July this year. Renters can now hang a picture on the wall without having to ask their landlord and can no longer be discriminated against for having a pet. There is also a list of ‘minor modifications’ which includes things like putting flyscreens on windows that tenants will be allowed to install themselves without permission from their landlord.
In my view, these ‘minor modifications’ should be legislated minimum standards and be the responsibility of the homeowner not the renter, which is why I moved an amendment to establish minimum standards which the government and opposition both voted against. I also moved amendments to tie rent increases to CPI to stop the exorbitant rent increases we’ve seen over the last four years because the government’s plan to reduce the number of increases per year to one will do nothing to stop the size of that increase! I also spoke at length during the debate about a range of temporary measures the government could introduce now to help renters, like a rent freeze, which were roundly opposed.
Finally, I teamed up with independent MLC Wilson Tucker to go hard on the issue of ‘no reason’ evictions. ‘No reason’ (no-grounds or no-cause) evictions are a clause in the Act that allows your landlord to evict you for no reason. It is a deeply unethical part of the act that gives disproportionate power to landlords and real estate agents and, rightly, makes tenants afraid to ask for issues to be fixed for fear of simply being evicted. Western Australia is the only state to still allow no reason evictions and the government, as the biggest landlord in the state, regularly uses them against public housing tenants to evict them into homelessness.
On Tuesday 16th April we held a rally outside Parliament, alongside Wilson Tucker MLC, First Nations advocates, tenancy lawyers and advocacy group Stop Evicting Families, to demand an end to this policy. But the government refused to scrap the policy. Shame.
A final word on housing: you may have noticed a series of videos on my social media over the last couple of months identifying empty, abandoned or demolished social and public housing around Perth and calling on the government to do something about it. Well, if you know of or you think you know of any empty public housing in your area that has fallen into disrepair then please get in touch with my office because we’d be keen to film it! You can DM me on socials or email: brad.pettitt@mp.wa.gov.au
In the climate space we have continued our local consultation of Climate Positive Perth. I spoke at a Perth Design Week in the CBD in March and we held a fantastic and engaging community session at Como Bowls Club just a couple of days ago that not only generated heaps of brilliant ideas but I reckon changed a few minds about the Greens as well. We’ve also continued to support community campaigns and protests, including the Save Scott Reef campaign launch and the Disrupt Burrup Hub fundraiser at Clancy’s in Freo that both happened in March, and the protest outside Woodside’s AGM alongside many other Greens members and supporters in April and the ongoing rallies, protests, blockades and Iftar dinners in support of Gaza and the Palestinian people.
We’ve continued to advocate strongly for life-changing reforms to the Equal Opportunity Act, including scrapping the gender re-assignment board and banning conversion practices in WA. The trans and intersex communities had a small win last month with the Attorney General announcing the gender reassignment board would be scrapped later this year, but it was disappointing to see that a medical model will still be favoured instead of self-identification. With a new One Nation member in the upper house (he used to be a Labor Candidate – you can look him up) there has been a marked increase in bigotry in the Legislative Council.
In March we were forced to spend two hours debating a disgusting, transphobic motion put forward by this One Nation member. LGBTIQA+ people, particularly the trans and gender diverse community, are being subjected to growing hate, threats and extremism which are being encouraged by far-right groups and politicians. It’s clear they are trying to use these kinds of transphobic displays and stunts as a form of recruitment.
The rights of trans, gender-diverse and intersex folks are non-negotiable and I want to reaffirm the Greens support and solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities, especially trans, gender-diverse, non-binary and intersex folks, many of whom are still reeling from years-long attacks on their very rights to exist.
My office is continuing to support Free the Hounds in their campaign to ban Greyhound Racing in WA and there is a live petition here that I would encourage all members and supporters to sign.
Finally, it has been wonderful collaborating with and getting to know my (soon-to-be) Legislative Council colleagues over the last couple of months. In April we went away together as a group down to Dwellingup to strategise and plan, which has left me feeling incredibly energised and excited to get out there and campaign over the coming months!
Header photo: Our six Greens Legislative Council candidates in the forest in Dwellingup on the ANZAC Day long weekend.