The Housing Minister says fixing the homelessness crisis in WA is far more complex than building more state housing.

Over the weekend police shut down the “tent city” that had been occupying Fremantle’s Pioneer Park for more than a month.

The state government were forced to intervene after a string of disturbing charges were laid against people living in the camp, including the alleged rape of two teenage girls.

Housing Minster Peter Tinley told 6PR’s Liam Bartlett the people displaced have been moved into temporary accommodation, until a longer term solution can be arranged.

“There are a bunch of other complex support needs that have to be addressed,” he said.

The public housing waitlist has risen to more than 15,700 people in Western Australia.

Despite the budget now being in surplus thanks to a roaring Iron Ore price, Peter Tinley says they aren’t in a position to develop more state housing.

“Building homes is not just the answer,” he said.

“We need to find the amount of resources that need to be deployed to actually attend to the issue, there is more to this than just bricks and mortar.”

Click play to hear the full interview.