Opinion: We’re working to make housing more affordable

All Queenslanders deserve somewhere to call home, and making that a little easier is a priority for me as your premier, writes Steven Miles.

In my first speech to Queenslanders as premier, I said the most important thing a government can do is deliver intergenerational prosperity.

That’s just shorthand for saying that government should help parents give their kids more opportunities than they had.

Good, secure, affordable housing is the most important foundation to make that happen.

No matter how hard they work, it’s next to impossible for parents to give their kids those opportunities if they’re constantly moving house, changing school – or worse still, couch surfing or sleeping rough.

Labor governments are about opportunity, and there is no opportunity without housing.

All Queenslanders deserve somewhere to call home. And making that a little easier is a priority for me as your premier.

Housing affordability and supply is a challenge across the world. From high inflation driven by a rebounding global economy after the pandemic, through to the impacts of the invasion of Ukraine and war in the Middle East. These things have driven up the cost of construction materials everywhere. As part of the response, reserve banks have hiked up interest rates.

In Australia, we’ve seen interest rates increase 13 times since May 2022. That’s the biggest increase in the shortest period in 40 years.

Queensland’s population has grown by nearly 330,000 people since 2020. That’s equivalent to adding another Townsville and Rockhampton to our state in just three-and-a-half years.

The rate of new homes has since 2015 increased by 1895 per quarter. More than 333,000 new homes have been built in that time. And yet despite this, houses have not been built fast enough to keep up with the record numbers of people moving here.

Queenslanders are now struggling, competing for a place to live with vacancy rates below 1 per cent, prices are higher for the one in three who do have a place to rent, and then those who have their own home are battling higher interest rates.

I want every Queenslander to know that I’m listening. I get it, and I’m on their side. That’s why I have developed the Homes for Queenslanders plan.

One of my first decisions as premier was to appoint a dedicated minister for housing, local government, planning and public works – a housing mega-portfolio with all the levers government can pull to deliver more housing in the social sector and private market.

The $3.1 billion investment in our Homes for Queenslanders plan is the single largest investment in Queensland’s housing system ever.

It is a comprehensive plan to build more homes faster, support renters, help first homeowners, boost our social housing Big Build, and work towards ending homelessness.

Premier Steven Miles addresses the Queensland Media Club on Tuesday. Picture: John Gass/NCA NewsWire

This record financial investment is significant, but the mechanisms matter too – and so to ensure we deliver, I have asked Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon to refocus the Housing Roundtable to an implementation taskforce of key stakeholders.

We will do this because we recognise that good governments partner with the right expertise.

Our plan to build more homes faster starts with a target to deliver one million new homes by 2046, and 95 per cent of them will need to be in the private housing market. That is why we will fund the trunk infrastructure to encourage more development.

To support renters, we will deliver a priority relief package to support more people to stay in the private market and out of the social housing system.

This will fund things like bond loans and portable bonds. We will also ban rent bidding, and we will increase the duration for the Rental Security Subsidy for all households and even more for people under 25.

To support first homeowners we will pilot a home finance loan scheme to support Queenslanders living in regional locations.

We will also do more to support First Nations peoples into home ownership. And we will back the federal government’s “Help to Buy” scheme by introducing legislation into the Queensland Parliament this year.

We will also boost our social housing build, which is necessary because investment in social housing across Australia has not kept up with demand. In 1981 social housing was 4.9 per cent of housing stock. In 2021 that figure had fallen to 3.8 per cent.

Today I am making a clear commitment that our government will step up and deliver a safe place to live for Queenslanders doing it tough.

We will restore social housing to where it needs to be as a percentage of the overall housing stock, with a target of 53,500 social homes by 2046.

Finally, we will work towards ending homelessness. One of the first things I did as premier was to visit the tents at Musgrave Park

No one should have to live like that. That’s why we are delivering a record 20 per cent uplift to homelessness services, and I have set a goal of having offered shelter to every single Queenslander sleeping rough.

Housing shouldn’t be used as political football. I will do everything I can as premier to seek bipartisan support in Queensland for these initiatives, because we have not seen this at a national level.

I understand the importance of having a place to call home. Having our own home gave me and my family security, stability and a sense of pride.

Kids growing up in Queensland today should have the same opportunity as I did to buy a house. I will continue to work hard every day for Queenslanders to make this a reality.

Steven Miles is Premier of Queensland