No 138 bed emergency accommodation for Geraldton
/Back in February of last year Nationals candidate Shane Van Styn was running in the state election vying to be member for Geraldton against Liberal incumbent Ian Blayney.
He committed to throwing his weight behind a $10million facility that would have 138 beds available as emergency short term accommodation.
The 138 bed facility would have been a great asset for the community, as quoted at the time:
Mr Van Styn said the hostel would provide a much needed accommodation base for Aboriginal and non Aboriginal people in the community requiring emergency short-term housing.
“Many Aboriginal families in particular are required to travel long distances to access services in Geraldton, which can be a significant financial burden,” Mr Van Styn said.
“A hostel would mean there would be a reduced need for mums, dads and children to sleep rough when away from home, which in turn reduces social friction and improves health outcomes.”
Mr Van Styn said The Nationals recognised the difficulties faced by families when making the journey to Geraldton, as well as the dire need for emergency housing for the wider Geraldton community and the need to provide assistance to reduce the associated hardships.
Gian De Poloni from ABC Midwest reported on Friday that the commitment has been shelved.
WA Labor has hit out at the National Party over a shelved election commitment to build an 138-bed crisis hostel in #Geraldton.
— Gian De Poloni (@GianDePoloni) October 3, 2014
But Van Styn is not taking any of the blame.
Former Geraldton Nationals Candidate Shane Van Styn says it didn't happen because he wasn't elected to power.
— Gian De Poloni (@GianDePoloni) October 3, 2014
To be fair to Mr Van Styn, this is what he said back then:
Many Geraldton voters probably thought they would get the benefits of the Nationals promises as a Liberal/National state government was elected, but here's a quote from Premier Colin Barnet after the election
Which basically says: we make no assurances to keep the National Party's commitments.
How did the election actually turn out?
If you recall, Liberal won 31 seats, Labor 21, Nationals 7, giving Liberal an outright majority and removing their need to rely on the Nationals for the balance of power.
In WA the Liberals and Nationals are not an actual coalition, but have a power sharing agreement of sorts, thus the Nationals rely on their balance of power to get things done.
It's noteworthy that Labor would "hit out" at the Nationals, as Labor gave their preferences to Liberal in the seat of Geraldton over the Nationals. (link)