Labor’s Sue Lines on the border of Lathlain and Rivervale at Orrong Road.
Camera IconLabor’s Sue Lines on the border of Lathlain and Rivervale at Orrong Road. Credit: Supplied/David Baylis

Public housing clash

Sarah Motherwell, Southern GazetteSouthern Gazette

Senator Lines, who lives in Lathlain, criticised Swan MHR Steve Irons and Belmont MLA Glenys Godfrey for championing the reduction of public housing in Rivervale.

She said the lack of affordable housing options in WA saw the need for more state housing, not less.

‘Gone are the days when we get people and put them into suburbs a long way from the city where there are no services,’ Senator Lines said.

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‘Belmont is well able to provide people on low incomes and they should be welcome in this area.’

Senator Lines said she did not support the Department of Housing’s ‘three strikes’ policy, and eviction should not be an additional punishment for committing a crime.

‘If you break the law you get charged; you get found guilty and you’re punished. I don’t see that we need to then say to people you’ve broken the law therefore we’re going to evict you from your house,’ she said.

‘If we want a law like that then it applies to (everyone) wherever we live; let’s not just target residents in public housing.’

Mrs Godfrey said public housing and anti-social behaviour was most of what constituents addressed with her.

‘Don’t just have your head in the sand and say don’t have three strikes and nine families around that house have to put up with the cases where we’ve got people having their cars destroyed and all this sort of stuff; that’s not acceptable,’ Mrs Godfrey said.

‘We’ve had cases where a family’s had one or two strikes and then they’ve changed their behaviour’