2025-11-05
Addressing homeless, with the public and in parliament, progressing surrogacy laws, supporting firies and encouraged by local government election results
By Hon Tim Clifford, MLC
Another two months in Parliament done and dusted! I’m really proud of what my team and I have achieved over September and October, and look forward to saying the same in my next report at the end of the year.
Housing forum
October kicked off with our first town hall of this term, which was centred around WA’s housing crisis. While it continues to absolutely smash far too many West Australians, the Cook Labor Government just keeps taking this crisis from bad to worse.
But if there’s one thing that gives me hope that we can really shift the dial on this, it’s when we come together as a community to demand better. I came away feeling really uplifted by the shared sense of outrage and collective energy for taking action, and I hope that’s what everyone else took away from it, too.
My sincerest thanks to our wonderful panel on the night: my Greens WA colleague Brad Pettitt MLC, local community advocate Sophie Greer, and Will from the Renters and Housing Union. Each of them offered a really unique perspective on the housing crisis that sparked some really lively and passionate discussion.
I’m also deeply grateful to our audience, and in particular the folks who shared with us their stories of lived experience: the grief at having done everything ‘right’ and still not being able to find a home of their own; the exhaustion of living in endless housing precarity; the fear for what the future might hold; the frustration at our decision-makers’ unwillingness to do anything remotely meaningful to address any of it.
My team and I are now planning for the next phase of our housing campaign, which will include more town hall events and other opportunities to be a part of the movement to build power for renters and housing in WA. Make sure you keep an eye out and get involved!
Parliamentary happenings
September 18 was a big day for me and my team: the Cook Labor Government tabled a report in the upper house detailing its progress on the implementation of measures to address WA’s homelessness crisis.
This report only came about after I successfully moved a motion back in June forcing the government to produce it. Prior to that, we had absolutely zero insight into how they were tracking on rolling out the 57 recommendations made by a Parliamentary inquiry into homelessness more than two years ago.
I’m really proud that Greens’ pressure has held WA Labor to account on this shocking crisis unfolding on their watch. I’ll let you know any key takeaways from the report as soon as I can.
October was quite a busy month in Parliament – and a historic one, too. After years of advocacy from community groups and LGBTIQA+ families, WA’s surrogacy laws are one step closer to being reformed after the assisted reproductive technology bill landed in the Upper House.
The Greens have been instrumental to the progress of this bill, which will expand access to altruistic surrogacy and reciprocal IVF for same-sex couples, single men, and transgender and intersex people. We also blocked an attempt to refer the bill to the Legislation Committee, which would have delayed its passage into law for an extended period of time while the bill was scrutinised.
I’m really proud to be a part of changing the regressive and discriminatory laws that currently prevent every West Australian from being able to start a family, no matter who they are or who they love. I look forward to standing on the right side of the chamber – and the right side of history – when it soon comes time to vote the bill into law.
Looking forward to the last two months of the Parliamentary year, I expect the Upper House will be dealing with two significant bills after surrogacy. I won’t hold back on raising questions during debate around the government’s State Development Bill, which could have serious implications on our democracy and government transparency. Post and boast is also due to return to the chamber after its time in committee – watch this space.
Local government elections
October also marked the local government elections – the third election in WA this year! We had some fantastic results across a few councils, including in the City of Vincent where I was thrilled to see my friend Sophie Greer re-elected in South Ward. Sophie’s been such a staunch advocate for her local community since she was first elected to council in 2023, and I’m delighted that this time around she’s secured a four-year term after being elected on a full quota.
Excitingly, we also have two brand new Greens councillors: Jack Gordon-Manley in the Town of Victoria Park and Abedin Zahid in the City of Belmont.
Massive congratulations to all three – I know they’re going to do their damndest to get the results our communities deserve on the issues that matter most.
Events and community advocacy
In September my upper house colleague Sophie McNeill and I were invited to visit Fremantle Fire Station. For months now, Sophie and I have vocally supported the United Professional Firefighters Union of WA in their fight for fairer pay and working conditions. As the lowest paid profession in the WA public service, they’re asking for nothing more than they deserve in return for risking their personal safety on the community’s behalf every single day.
It’s obvious to anyone just how dangerous the work of a firefighter is, but I can now attest to it firsthand after going up 32 metres – about eight storeys! – in one of their emergency cherry pickers. What was a heart-pumping experience for me and Soph is all in a day’s work for these brave humans, and we’ll keep pushing the Cook Labor Government to do the right thing and ensure those who look after us are in turn properly looked after.
I was also invited to give a keynote address at the 2025 Circle Green WA Tenancy Conference in early October. It was very humbling to be able to share the Greens’ solutions to the housing crisis with an audience of people dedicated to the same goal.
This year’s conference theme was ’Building, Belonging’, which really captured the work everyone in the room is doing to build towards justice for people – and to the notion that a sense of home and a place to belong is a human right.
Header photo: The housing town hall panel – with, from left, Will from the Renters and Housing Union, Brad Pettitt MLC, and local community advocate Sophie Greer.