State government buys Murray Hotel

Rough sleepers will have access to more accommodation options later this year, courtesy of the state government’s $5.1 million purchase of the Murray Hotel.

Homelessness Minister John Carey today confirmed the state government had bought the 30-room hotel, located opposite Perth Modern School on the corner of Murray and Thomas Street, and will now tender for a community housing organization to run the site.

That process is open from today with the facility expected to be up and running this year.

Mr Carey today compared the services on offer to the city’s existing Boorloo Bidee Mia and Koort Boodja facilities, which cater specifically to Indigenous peoples affected by homelessness.

The purchase follows the state government’s announcement in December it would spend an additional $60.1 million on spot purchasing social housing across WA, an effort the minister framed as pragmatic given labour and material shortages facing the state’s construction sector.

“Dealing with homelessness is complex. It’s not simple,” Mr Carey said.

“I’m trying to look at pragmatic, practical solutions, particularly in this heated construction market, to assist people to break that cycle of rough sleeping.”

Today’s news comes amid an escalating rental affordability crisis in Western Australia, coupled with growing visibility of homelessness in Perth’s CBD.

Finding the exact number of rough sleepers in WA is hard, given the Australian Bureau of Statistics only publishes numbers as part of the five-yearly census, however, service providers generally rely on a by-name list, which as of November counts 389 rough sleepers in and around Perth.

Catering to the city’s rough sleeping population has divided the state government and City of Perth council, with Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas having argued in favour of decentralising services.

That came amid a stoush between the council and Ruah Community Services over its attempt to relocate its drop-in centre from its current premises on Shenton Street to a new building along James Street.

Council had initially blocked that move, in the process earning a stern rebuke from Mr Carey, before Planning Minister Rita Saffioti later overturned the decision.

Asked whether he’d spoken to the council about the Murray Hotel purchase, Mr Carey said he had intended to brief Mr Zempilas on the issue and that he had yet to indicate his position on the subject.

“This is not in East Perth, where we do have a number of services, so I am trying to do an approach where we integrate social housing and homelessness facilities among a number of different communities,” he said.

“I’m not aware of other homelessness accommodation in West Perth.”

The Murray Hotel last sold in 2007 to Project 37 Pty Ltd for $3.5 million.