2026-11-05
Confronting ongoing homelessness, Airbnbs vs. long term rentals, high quality affordable housing options, housing ideas from Albany and scrutinizing the AI tsunami
By Hon Tim Clifford, MLC
It’s hard to believe we’re already approaching the end of another year! I’m amazed at how much my team and I have managed to pack in over the past couple of months, with no sign of things slowing down.
Short-stay motion
In September I moved a motion in Parliament calling on the Cook Labor Government to immediately introduce a moratorium on new unhosted whole-house short-stays in WA.
Rental affordability has long been at a crisis point in WA. While the causes are varied, it’s clear that the explosion of unhosted Airbnbs is cannibalising tens of thousands of homes that could and should be long-term rentals for WA families.
Clear to everyone, that is, except the Cook Labor Government, which completely deflected my calls for action. It’s sadly unsurprising given their track record on the issue.
Meanwhile, things just keep getting worse. Almost an entire year after I moved a similar motion on the devastating impact of unhosted Airbnbs on the long-term rental market, almost 1,000 more have joined the market in WA.
It’s so frustrating that the Greens (WA) are the only party committed to putting this issue on the agenda, but I’m damn proud of the work we’re doing – and will continue to do – to ensure everyone has a safe place to call home.
Other housing happenings
Early in September my colleague Brad Pettitt MLC and I had the privilege of visiting some excellent housing projects by Jason Townes, the founder of the private affordable housing provider Urban Fabric.
Jason was generous enough to show us around a handful of Urban Fabric’s six residential sites in the Fremantle area, learning about their incredible work and meeting some of the residents. It’s proof that, where there’s a will, it’s entirely possible to deliver high-quality housing at scale that’s also affordable.
I also visited Uniting’s Tranby Engagement Hub in the city – an amazing place that’s Perth’s only 365-days-a-year crisis centre – as well as the Ruah Engagement Hub in Northbridge. It’s always so incredible to see the work being done on the ground to support unhoused folks, and I’m truly grateful for the gap these services are filling in the government’s absence.
Speaking of government absence, it was absolutely exasperating to see the dozens of unhoused people camped on Rockingham’s Memorial Drive forced to clear out back in September.
The Memorial Drive encampment is the tragic outcome of almost 10 years of WA Labor’s total failure to deliver meaningful housing policy, and forcing people to move on has done nothing to address the root cause of homelessness.
Albany trip
In September my team and I also travelled down to Albany/Kinjarling to do some community engagement and team building – both of which I think we absolutely nailed!
One of the trip’s highlights was the housing brainstorm event we held at Albany’s Premier Hotel alongside my colleague Jess Beckerling MLC. The event was a bit of an experiment: we turned the reins over to the community members who attended, drawing on the collective wisdom in the room to tease out the key issues in – and solutions to – Albany’s housing crisis.
I was blown away by how engaged, insightful and energised folks were – but certainly not surprised, given that the best ideas for tackling the biggest issues facing our communities come from the people who actually live there.
We're excited to take this format to other towns and cities around WA very soon, so keep your eye out!
My team and I also had the absolute privilege of visiting Eungedup Wetlands, a newly restored conservation sanctuary at Youngs Siding near Albany. Originally a wetland, the 104-hectare property was drained in the early 1900s to farm potatoes. However, in 2023, a group of environmentalists bought the property, which they flooded to restore the historic wetland system.
In just three years, the incredible team at the Wilson Inlet Catchment Committee (WICC) have transformed the property into a thriving ecosystem – one that’s now home to more than 100 bird species, including the endangered Australasian bittern.
Massive thanks to Shaun and Tim from WICC for generously giving me, my team and my colleague Jess Beckerling a tour of this amazing place. If you’d like to check it out yourself, it’s due to open to the public at the end of the year.
Other important developments
My team and I have been working hard to progress work in other important spaces, including transparency in government and artificial intelligence.
Over the past few months, I’ve been working with my WA Liberals colleague Liam Staltari MLA to establish cross-party advocacy for AI regulation. In September we organised and sent a letter signed by 20 WA MPs to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on his government to step up efforts on AI standards as well as advocating internationally to both pace AI development and implement a global moratorium on AI superintelligence.
In the wake of our letter, I was really encouraged to see that the PM joined other world leaders to issue an urgent plea for global AI guardrails, and I look forward to further developments in this critical space.
Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the incredible service of Senator Larissa Waters, who made the tough decision at the end of September to step down as the leader of the Australian Greens due to ill health. Larissa led the party with such strength and authenticity since taking on the leadership in May last year, and I’m deeply grateful for her tireless service to our Greens movement in that time. I wish her the very best in her recovery, and look forward to a new era under the leadership of Senator David Shoebridge.
Header photo: Tim and Jess Beckerling at a housing brainstorm event in Albany in September.