Qld’s ‘dire’ position 12 months on from housing summit

The state’s housing crisis is getting worse with ongoing construction delays, and the affordability and availability of homes moving beyond reach. VOTE NOW

A year on from the Queensland government’s landmark summit, the state’s housing crisis has worsened.

Demand for homelessness support has soared, construction delays have further crippled new supply and the affordability and availability of homes has left housing beyond the reach of average Queenslanders.

Industry leaders acknowledge the government has made strides with policies to improve the catastrophe gripping the state but the issue is “moving faster than policy”.

According to the latest federal government data, demand for homeless services from those needing help soared nearly 11 per cent since the October summit to June — worse than all other state and territories and by far outstripping the national average of 3.5 per cent.

Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh said there were “significant outcomes” stemming from the summit, particularly the doubling of the Housing Investment Fund to $2 billion to build more social and affordable homes.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick, Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and then Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch at the Housing Summit. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

But she said revelations this week the government assisted services with an astonishing 1.6 million nights of accommodation for people experiencing homelessness last year showed the “absolute level of crisis”.

“We’re yet to see any response by either the Commonwealth or state governments that really gives us comfort we have not just a crisis response in place but also a long term strategy,” Ms McVeigh said.

“We continue to be in a really dire situation — it is incredibly distressing to continue, for our services, to be supporting families who are living in cars and tents.”

Meanwhile, the cost of construction remains a barrier to the creation of desperately needed homes, with the Queensland’s Housing Industry Australia executive director, Mick Roberts, revealing the cost to build a two-bedroom unit in Brisbane is now more than $1 million.

“There are very few locations in the city where you can put a two-bedroom unit on the market at that price and someone’s willing to buy it,” he said.

“It would work along the river and it would work in South Brisbane but no one’s going to pay $1.2 million for a two-bedroom unit at Chermside.”

Property Council’s Jen Williams urged the government to consider introducing incentives to offset some of the costs felt by builders.

“Despite best intentions and best laid plans, the market is moving faster than policy,” she said.

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the government had taken on the crisis on a number of fronts in the last 12 months.

“The Summit was just the start – it was a chance for everyone to put their differences aside to get the job done,” she said.

“One year on, it’s still a work in progress but we are determined to see it through.”

But Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said all the government has delivered is “false hope not homes”.

“It’s a year since the Labor Government finally accepted responsibility for the Queensland housing crisis yet it’s only got worse and still no one has been held accountable for that failure,” he said.

“The LNP has put solutions on the table to ease the Queensland Housing Crisis, including prioritising infrastructure partnerships with local government to unlock more land for housing, unleashing the community housing sector and setting KPIs and delivering social housing projects on-time and on-budget.”

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Originally published as Qld’s ‘dire’ position 12 months on from housing summit