Qld Government spent $345 million buying back properties for schools since 2014
More than $345 million has been spent since 2014 to purchase homes and properties to build new Queensland schools and expand existing ones as the state’s population continues to boom. SEE WHERE THE MONEY WAS SPENT
Education
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The state government has spent more than $345 million buying homes and properties to make way for new state schools and expansions since 2014 as Queensland’s population continues to grow.
Properties have been purchased in Brisbane, Cairns, Gold Coast, Mount Isa, South Burnett and the Tablelands since 2019 alone, with $63.5 million having already been spent during this financial year.
It comes as state school enrolments have grown from 543,049 in 2017 to 575,173 last year with the largest proportion – 29.9 per cent – enrolled in the metropolitan region in 2021.
A further 22 per cent were enrolled across the southeast last year while 20.6 per cent went to school in the north coast region.
University of Queensland senior lecturer in population geography Elin Charles-Edwards said the number of properties being purchased wasn’t a surprise given the state’s population growth.
“The other thing we’ve seen … is the densification and renewal of the inner-city areas,” she said.
“A lot of children are now living in apartments.”
Between 2014-15 and 2018-19, 76 properties were purchased totalling $223.4 million excluding GST.
However from 2019-20 to the end of January this year, $122 million was spent on about 60 properties.
These have also been purchased in Logan, Redlands, Toowoomba, Cassowary Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley, Moreton Bay, Somerset, Southern Downs and the Sunshine Coast.
Dr Charles-Edwards said much of the land being acquired was likely greenfield space.
“It really just reflects growth in that baseline population,” she said.
The senior lecturer said there continued to be population growth in the southwestern corridor and in the southern edge of the Sunshine Coast.
A spokeswoman for the Education Department said the department was committed to delivering high-quality educational facilities for all Queensland school-aged students.
“In total since 2019, approximately $122 million has been spent acquiring land … to ensure Queensland school-aged students can attend their local state school and that there is room available for expansion if required,” she said.
Properties purchased include commercial, vacant land and residential.
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