Friday, February 7, 2025
17.2 C
Canberra

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

Thousands more workers are expected to be living in city of Karratha by 2030. (ABC News: Cody Fenner)

In short:

Modelling predicts Karratha's population could rise by 35 per cent by 2030.

Locals are worried about the impact on housing availability.

What's next?

The local government is exploring options to bring down housing costs.

Australia is in a race to decarbonise and the country has never been hungrier for energy. 

Billions of dollars are flooding into solar and wind farms, hydrogen projects, and even more gas wells to fill the energy gap left by the phase out of Australia’s coal-fired power stations. 

It is driving a population boom in Western Australia’s resource-rich Pilbara region. 

Firmly in the spotlight is the region's only city, Karratha, which according to the 2021 census has 22,000 residents.

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

The Pilbara is a key region for renewables due to its sunny and windy climate. (ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean)

"There’s an investment pipeline of $177 billion of projects in the region to the early 2030s. That’s a massive undertaking for any region," Pilbara Development Commission chief executive Simon Taylor said.

And if all those projects go through to completion, it means an influx of workers to Karratha, more than 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, where rent is already among the highest in the country.

This year the development commission examined each future project and added the expected workforces to that of current projects, including a fertiliser plant under construction on the nearby Burrup Peninsula.

"We anticipate we would see a residential population increase of up to 7,500," Mr Taylor said.

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

Simon Taylor says housing is crucial in getting projects off the ground. (ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)

"That would represent an increase of one third on the current population, so it's a substantial increase."

Workers turn down jobs due to housing costs

For service providers like Anglicare, Karratha's accommodation shortage has made hiring staff an uphill battle.

"It's not unusual for us to interview a great, well-qualified person who's interested in moving to the regions, for them to be successful in seeking the job but they're not able to take it because they simply can't find housing," Anglicare north-west manager Carina Cooke said.

"It's not even just about it being affordable housing, they just can't get housing at all."

Median weekly house rent for the three months to November

Year Karratha regional centre Greater Perth
2016 $400 $370
2017 $475 $350
2018 $450 $355
2019 $620 $370
2020 $700 $400
2021 $700 $450
2022 $800 $520
2023 $1,100 $600
2024 $1,100 $650

Source: Real Estate Institute of WA

Karratha has previously experienced periods of rapid population growth due to the iron ore industry and other resource investments including gas, with mining booms hitting the city in the 60s and early-to-mid 2000s.

The thought of another boom is troubling for small businesses, struggling with what is colloquially known as the "Pilbara tax".

"We offer all our staff the overtime [rate] purely because we know how expensive it is in Karratha," hardware store manager Zana Salta said.

"Even to rent the building itself … obviously a monthly amount comes out of that, and then power on top of that is, it's above and beyond what we would expect if we were in Perth that's for sure."

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

Zana Salta pays staff above the standard industry wage so they can afford to live. (ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean)

She said an extra 7,500 people would likely mean hiring more staff.

"And that just worries me."

The WA government announced in September $2.34 million to assist the City of Karratha to develop up to 82 new dwellings for key workers as part of a mixed-use development.

A state government spokesperson said they were working with local government and industry to unlock development and create a future pipeline of worker accommodation across regional WA.

Million dollar price tag

High-construction costs continue to be a bottleneck preventing vital housing projects from moving forward.

Kim Janney is a director of Karratha-based building company TIMIK and said building residential homes in the area was slow.

"The costs to build started to increase probably a year and a half, two years ago," he said.

"You're getting to the point now, where you need a million dollars for your house and land package to start with.

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

Kim Janney says completing homes in Karratha is slow and expensive. (ABC Pilbara: Charlie McLean)

"Since COVID, it's probably been five to 10 completions a year and that would be similar probably for the other builders, building for private customers."

A plea to Canberra for help

The WA government has been working to free up development-ready land, including 127 new residential lots in the Madigan Estate.

The City of Karratha is trying to entice builders to develop several empty blocks of land by covering some of their development costs through partnerships with the state and federal government.

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

Dan Scott is raising Karratha's housing crisis in Canberra. (ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean)

Mayor Dan Scott said the city was hopeful it could use local ports to help reduce the cost of bringing in materials.

"If we can get some sort of housing model that gets materials in from Asia through our ports … and if we can figure out a way to get those at a cheaper price we might be able to get some housing going," he said.

Cr Scott has also been making trips to Canberra this year, trying to convince the government and opposition that the Pilbara should be bumped up a few places in the long-waiting list for housing investment.

Karratha fearful of Pilbara population boom due to housing shortage

The local government tries to explain the scale of the housing crisis to politicians. (ABC News: Anthony Pancia)

"There's actually a lot of people, including ministers and people in government, who don't actually know where Karratha is," Cr Scott said.

Build houses first, mayor says

Cr Scott said approval for large-scale resources projects should hinge on whether or not there was enough housing in the area.

"If you're going to approve a $30 billion or a $5 billion project, that project is going to need houses, whether it's for their direct employment or it's for the work that flows," he said.

"Because we know for every one industrial worker you need another two to three people to service that person.

"Whether that's your barista, or your hairdresser or your teacher or your police officer."

Perdaman, the company which is building a fertiliser plant near Karratha, announced in August it would spend $122 million building 100 new homes in Karratha for its 150 operational staff.

The company said construction had started and the project would reduce pressure on both the project workforce and the local rental housing market.

Find more local news

Browse for your location and find more local ABC News and information

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Hot this week

How passports and a deal with China have put New Zealand at odds with its former colony Cook Islands

Winston Peters has made it clear he's unhappy Cook...

Investigation launched into human egg trafficking ring targeting Thai women

Three Thai women have been repatriated after allegedly being...

Live updates: Donald Trump likens Gaza redevelopment proposal to ‘real estate transaction’

US President Donald Trump has likened his proposal to...

Surviving Al-Fayed brother becomes third to be accused of sexual abuse

Shoppers enter and leave the Harrods store in London....

Topics

spot_img

Related Articles