Housing on Coast: Deputy Mayor says ‘lose the word crisis’

The deputy mayor has offered an alternate view on the current housing shortage but the mayor says if people are living in tents, a crisis it is.

Fraser Coast deputy mayor Darren Everard says the current housing shortage, where people are being left homeless within the community, should instead be seen as a “challenge” rather than the commonly referred to “crisis”.

Fraser Coast Deputy Mayor Darren Everard believes what the Fraser Coast is facing, with a severe lack of housing, is not a crisis.

His view was first flagged at the recent Fraser Coast Property Industry Association Forum where he asked members to “lose the word crisis”.

Cr Everard has since stood by that stance, telling the Chronicle this week he believed challenge was a more suitable word because “we can’t rush into” the solution.

“In my opinion, it’s a challenge because we’ve got to set (our plan) up for the future … we can’t rush (into a plan),” he said.

“The challenges we are facing with housing are not restricted to the Fraser Coast; the solution will not come from council alone and will take a partnership from all levels of Government.

“What ever we do as council needs to be a part of the overall solution that will address the needs now but also in the future as the region continues to grow.”

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour disagrees with the Deputy Mayor.

However, Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour maintained the current shortage was a “crisis” and said calling it a challenge “dehumanises” the situation.

“I know people that are homeless, it is a housing crisis,” he told the Chronicle.

“(The word challenge) dehumanises the issue … I know people who have young children and are living in tents – that’s a crisis.

“Nobody should be homeless, I ran the youth homeless shelter for many years before I was on council, so I know the direct impact it has on people.”

FCPIA also maintains the current situation is a crisis.

This week it was also revealed Hervey Bay has experienced the highest rent hike in the nation in the past year.