Housing and food expense reach breaking point in Far North

Housing and food have emerged as the biggest concerns for Cairns residents in light of rents exceeding incomes, abysmal vacancy rates and crippling cost of living.

Housing and food costs have emerged as the biggest concerns for Cairns residents as rents begin to exceed incomes, vacancy rates are abysmal, and the cost of living generally is crippling.

The top search for Cairns clients last month was to do with food at 24.6 per cent followed by housing at 21.9 per cent, and financial help (16.8 per cent), according to Infoxchange Service Directory search data (2023).

Vinnies Queensland vice president Dennis Innes said the number of Far North Queensland residents their services helped had climbed from approximately 12,000 in the 2021-2022 financial year, to 14,000 this past financial year.

“Anyone who pays bills knows that virtually every time you get a new one – be it electricity,

registration, or your telephone – they’re all increasing and rents are going up as well,” Mr Innes said.

“In Cairns, the vacancy rate is still 0.9 per cent – that’s one house in every 100 that is available for rent, and how many of them are affordable?

Cairns resident Julie Macdonald works in reservations in the tourism industry and has found that the pinch is being felt everywhere across their household budget.

“We’re seeing people who are paying more in rent than what their actual incomes are … people who are on benefits. There is just no end in sight.”

With rents now exceeding some people’s incomes, services expressed concerns for families with multiple children living in hotels, motels and tents across the region.

Housing figures as recently as June have shown 3512 people in the Cairns Regional Council area are waiting, on average, more than two years for social housing, and of the 1799 social housing applications in the area, two-thirds are flagged as either experiencing homelessness or being at risk of it.

The solution was not as simple as more housing, according to Mr Innes, who said while money was committed, materialisation would take two to seven years.

“We can’t address kids’ education issues, for example, if they’re living out of a car and going to school and there’s nowhere to shower and their medical needs aren’t met,” he said.

“If housing is addressed first, then we can help filter support through to what their particular needs are.”

Lucy Aura, has gone viral after the rising cost of living forced her to move into a tent and she began filming her lifestyle to share with others. Picture: Supplied

Ms Aura's tent/home. Picture: Lucy Aura

Anglicare North Queensland executive manager Evan Martin said there was increased demand for their Specialist Homelessness Services, food relief and at-risk tenancy support in Cairns.

He said families living in hotels were of particular concern, especially in Cairns where tourism could lead to a rise in demand and room prices.

“When families are living in hotels, there’s no security of tenure and with multiple children, that becomes a real concern,” Mr Martin said.

“There’s no control over your space, you’ve got limited cooking – and that again pushes prices up because you have to eat takeaway or use shared cooking facilities.”

QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh praised Anglicare and Vinnies for providing outstanding support in an increasingly tough time for Far North Queenslanders.

“We know that residents in remote communities pay some of the highest food prices in the state,” she said.

“The Cook Shire has the lowest rental vacancy rate in the state on zero per cent.”

Service providers across Far North Queensland are meeting with Queensland Council of Social Service today to discuss a way forward as agencies of help hit capacity in the face of increasing demand.

Originally published as Housing and food expense reach breaking point in Far North