Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to bring attention to the severe housing shortage in the town of Exmouth, located in the electorate of Durack. Exmouth, a naturally beautiful township with a rich history, is surrounded by the dramatic gorges of Cape Range National Park and by Australia's largest fringing reef, the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef. According to recent data from the Regional Australia Institute, Exmouth is one of Australia's fastest growing towns, and I can see why. Who wouldn't want to live in this beautiful place?

This is a vibrant community—a community that relies heavily on the tourism trade. The whale shark swimming season started earlier this month. Opportunities to swim with these magnificent creatures are very rare, with the Ningaloo region being, I believe, the only place in Australia where, indeed, you can do this. Incidentally, a little-known fact about these gentle giants of the sea is that they are not actually whales but the largest fish in the ocean. Whale sharks can grow to an incredible 12 metres in length and can weigh up to 21.5 tonnes.

Exmouth has long been a defence town. It was established in 1964 to provide support to the Naval Communication Station Harold E Holt and to house dependent families of US Navy personnel. Today, Exmouth has a population of around 2,000, which can swell to over 6,000 during the height of the tourism season. The colours and sea life in and around Ningaloo Reef draw visitors from all over the world. To add to the drawcard of Exmouth's famous natural attractions, in just under a month's time visitors to Exmouth will have front-row seats to one of nature's most phenomenal occurrences, a total solar eclipse. This is an extraordinary and rare astronomical event that represents a unique opportunity for Western Australia and, indeed, Australia.

On 20 April 2023 at 11:27 am the shadow of the moon will graze the tip of Western Australia in a 40-kilometre-wide track as it travels over the Ningaloo region near Exmouth, making it the most accessible land based place on earth to view this spectacle. Visitors and astronomy lovers alike will be able to experience day turn to night. The process of the moon moving across the face of the sun takes three hours, but the brief moments of totality when the sun is completely obscured by the moon will last only 62 seconds. This is a spectacle that will not occur again in this area in our lifetime, so I encourage people to visit Exmouth during this time and experience this for yourselves. You will not be disappointed.

The Exmouth community, understandably, are very proud of where they live, and they have a very deep passion for their town. Like many other regional towns, the Exmouth community is currently facing a severe housing shortage. This is coupled with intensive migration growth. According to Regional Australia Institute data, Exmouth is the only Western Australian local government area north of Perth on the list of Australia's four areas with the largest increase in migration. But the housing shortage is hindering the town's development and causing significant frustration amongst locals. Local businesses are unable to secure staff due to these shortages. But it is just as important for our essential workers. We're seeing nurses and teachers having to stay in limited hotel accommodation. Families and would-be residents alike are struggling to find any kind of accommodation.

Last week, I have the great pleasure of travelling to Exmouth. I met with the local shire, the chamber of commerce, many local businesses, many local residents and, of course, those wonderful volunteer groups. I don't mind saying that these passionate Exmouth locals are incredibly frustrated by the housing issues in their town. The one concern that they all had in common was the lack of land being released. I believe the land available for release is being held up by previously expired native title processes or by a failure to implement the necessary flood mitigation measures.

Put simply, we need our state government to lift its game, so I'm calling on Minister John Carey, the housing minister in the WA state parliament, to make it a priority. Please, liaise with the local shire, hasten the land title lease processes to provide and make available more land. More could and should be done to help this community to grow. That's what it wants. Exmouth deserves so much better from the McGowan government.