Clean State, a Western Australian advocacy body for action on climate change, is advocating for a Low Carbon Social Housing Construction stimulus package, which would see the construction of 15,000 low-carbon social housing homes across the state and create 58,500 jobs.

The organisation says housing construction is one of the most powerful job keepers and economic multipliers across the economy and that stimulus spending on social housing provides one of the best opportunities to save existing jobs in the housing sector and create new jobs, while delivering the benefit of providing much-needed social housing for Western Australia’s most vulnerable.

Under their proposed package, Clean State has advocated for:

• 15,000 new social housing dwellings be built to 7.5-star (NatHERS rating) and the ‘Improved Liveability’ accessibility standard within three years.
• Each home is provided with 3kw rooftop solar systems (and battery systems to multi-unit dwellings) to reduce power bills for tenants
• Leverages that support the local low-emission building materials sector’s use of sustainable building products
• The use of government-owned land and prioritisation of sites along future transit routes so as to catalyse urban regeneration and affordable living in these sites.

More information here