Pilbara drivers struggle with housing situation

Trucking couple Natalie Kascak and Nathan Tucker say the “terrible” housing situation in Hedland has made it hard to put down roots in the mining community as they work hard to set up a future in town. The pair moved from Adelaide to Port Hedland this year for a “sea-change”, deciding on a whim to pack up and move their lives to the region. With more than 30 years combined experience in the trucking industry they said it was easy to find work but “very tricky” to find a home. It comes as the Pilbara experiences a building frenzy with more than 150 houses approved for development in the region this past financial year. Ms Kascak said for those unable to afford or find a property, settling down in town was hard. “We had both been up here before driving trucks for work but we didn't really know what the town was about,” she said. “We drove up here in two cars and a trailer with our dogs we didn't have a house until we were halfway across the Nullarbor. (It was) then we got an email saying we had been approved for a house. “Until then we were just coming up here on a hope and a whim. Work had housing for us in the interim so we had to stay there for a week until we got the keys to our house.” Ms Kascak said the couple was lucky their employment “fell into place” but the situation in Hedland was tough. “I own a house in Adelaide and it’s a very different (property) world up here,” she said. “We were lucky we had experience and we could come up here and easily get a job so it wasn't too hard for us but for other people to get work is a lot harder. We were lucky we just fell into a job. The hardest thing was getting a house. “We came here to work and set up a future so you’ve got to do it.” DevelopmentWA chief executive Frank Marra said land was available in Karratha, South Hedland, Newman and Onslow. “There is an adequate pipeline of future developable residential, commercial and industrial land available within the Pilbara to meet market demand, with much of the planning approvals currently in place to facilitate future development,” he said. Mr Marra said the agency was actively promoting land to attract owner-occupiers and investors in the Pilbara