Western Australia will hold a parliamentary inquiry into homelessness in the state, amid a spate of deaths among those sleeping rough in Perth.
Guardian Australia reported last month that researchers from the University of Western Australia had recorded at least 44 deaths this year among people who’d experienced homelessness in Perth. The average age of those who died was 49.
News of the inquiry follows a year-long investigation into street deaths by the West Australian newspaper, which reported on Thursday that the 2021 year-to-date figure of homeless deaths in Perth has now reached 51.
The inquiry, to be chaired by Liberal upper house MP Peter Collier will look at issues including the current funding and delivery for services, the state’s 10-year homelessness strategy, and how “existing data systems and how data informs service delivery”, according to the terms of reference.
Collier told Guardian Australia the inquiry was “not a finger-pointing exercise” and was aimed at improving the lives of people experiencing homelessness in Perth.
“In the 21st century, the fact that we’ve still got thousands of people sleeping on the streets at night is unacceptable. That’s not a political statement, that’s just fact. What we’re going to do as a committee is ascertain whether what’s being provided is adequate and appropriate.
He said “inevitably” the deaths of people experiencing homelessness would be examined part of the inquiry.
“We’re not going to prejudge … We’ll ascertain whether the services and the provisions are adequate and whether they did, perhaps, add to deaths on the streets.
The Greens have also previously expressed support for an inquiry, but the WA Labor government, which has a majority in both houses, has previously dismissed the need for such a probe, pointing to a record spending on housing and services in its recent budget.
Greens MP Brad Pettitt, who is on the committee that will run the inquiry, told Guardian Australia he hoped it could put politics aside to take an “open and transparent” look at the issue.
“All of the evidence is that homelessness in Western Australia is growing. Deaths on our streets have been increasing at an alarming rate. There are some clear gaps on the kinds of information that are collected around that.
Advocates have also been calling for an inquiry for some time, pointing not just to the UWA research, but also a spate of high-profile deaths of Aboriginal woman in the Perth CBD.
