Narrogin Motel owner Brian Seale balancing ‘compassion and commerce’ to help others through challenging times

As communities around Australia grapple with the rising cost of living amid a nationwide housing crisis, Narrogin Motel owner Brian Seale is coming to the aid of those doing it tough in the town he loves. Guided by kindness and faith, Mr Seale has opened up his home and his hotel in recent weeks to people with nowhere else to go. In challenging times, he is thankful to be able to help. “Not everyone is in a position to offer their home to a homeless person,” he said. “I’m in a unique position in that I have 50 rooms in a motel and if there’s one vacant then we can make use of it.” With a wealth of business and local government experience behind him, the former shire councillor shared his story to highlight the need for kindness in challenging times. “The accommodation situation is critical Australia-wide, not just in Narrogin,” he said. “In my whole life, I’ve never seen circumstances of such demand on accommodation, it’s unusual. “It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault, you can’t blame the Government or anyone else, it’s just the circumstances.” Until a solution to the crisis is found, Mr Seale said that it’s important for people to rally together. “We see it with farming people especially when a farmer is injured,” he said. “The neighbours come around and they sow the crop and then harvest it, take it to the bin and care for the family, they just do it. “When we had that terrible fire here, the same thing happened — that’s a great sign of community unity and that’s what makes me like to be here.” A lay minister with the Anglican Church, Mr Seale purchased the Narrogin Motel in 2012 but his special relationship with the town dates back to the late 70s. “I remember working here when I got out of the army, it was a really positive town to work in,” he said. “I’ve worked in other places since and in some towns you just throw the key on the desk and walk out and you don’t look in the rear vision mirror. “Narrogin was very different.” Mr Seale is driven by faith in the community and in God to navigate the motel’s operational needs while responding to the call of those doing it tough. “Ultimately people have to get back on their feet and make permanent arrangements but there’s a line that you draw between compassion and commerce,” he said. “This is still a business and staff have to be paid, the power still has to be paid but somewhere there’s got to be a balance and we try to find that balance and help the best we can. “That’s my heart’s ambition and that’s what we do.” Energised by the town he loves and the motel staff he calls “family”, Mr Seale has a simple message to spread. “If every single person helped just one person in the world, the whole world would be helped,” he said. “We’ve got to be watching our neighbours to see what their needs are, it’s about helping and wanting to help. “I think it’s what is in our soul — kindness and willingness to help has to be fundamental to the soul.”