West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has blamed "anarchists" for organising tent cities to draw attention to the state's homelessness crisis.
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The premier has accused activists of setting up a camp in Fremantle over the Christmas period as a political stunt ahead of the March election.
Dozens of tents have been set up at the camp located opposite the office of Communities Minister Simone McGurk.
Another homeless camp has been set up on the eastern fringes of Perth's CBD for much of the past year.
A "frustrated" Mr McGowan claims some of the people at the Fremantle camp already have accommodation but have been enticed there by organisers.
"The protesters, professional protesters, are often people from organisations like Extinction Rebellion - basically anarchists," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"They are coordinating this as some sort of protest movement.
"Often these people have complex mental health, drug addictions, alcohol addictions - I just urge them, use the services that are available."
House the Homeless WA spokesperson Jesse Noakes, a former Extinction Rebellion organiser and prominent advocate for homeless people, labelled the premier's comments as "baseless conspiracy theories".
"That the premier chooses to paint desperate people demanding support from his government as professional protesters shows how his government handles a crisis - with spin, distraction and a fatal abandonment of duty of care," he said in a statement.
Mr Noakes said the government had ignored letters from advocates and homeless people demanding immediate accommodation and housing.
Homelessness is shaping up as a major election issue despite expectations the Labor government will comfortably win re-election.
About 15,000 people are on the social housing waitlist and more than 1000 people are living on the streets, according to Shelter WA.
WA's rental vacancies have meanwhile hit record lows, with a moratorium on evictions and rent increases effectively freezing the market.
Residents of Perth's Tent City have raised fears about growing violence, theft of their possessions and mounting rubbish including discarded syringes.
Mr McGowan said his government was investing "more than ever before" into new social housing and homelessness services.
"What (the tent city organisers) are doing is taking advantage of vulnerable people ... rather than helping people, they are exploiting them," he said.
Australian Associated Press
