Economist calls for Queensland Government to boost social housing spending
With North Queenslanders languishing on housing wait lists, the pressure is on the state government to budget more money to boost local social housing stocks.
Townsville
Don't miss out on the headlines from Townsville. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SOCIAL housing is tipped to be the cornerstone of the 2022-23 state budget, with regional economist Colin Dwyer saying it was time for the government to step up for people on the social housing wait list.
Treasurer Cameron Dick announced on Monday the government would deliver 1200 new social and affordable homes with a partnership between the Brisbane Housing Company and the Queensland Investment Corporation.
It is unlikely this announcement will impact regional Queensland. However, it builds on the state’s investment in social housing in the last budget.
Mr Dwyer said in 2021-22 there was “inconsistent investment” in regional portfolios, with the “most obvious failure” in public housing.
“In 2021, Townsville Region Public Housing portfolio received just $32m with an undisclosed number of new dwellings,” he said.
“With a continuing extremely tight residential vacancy rate, over 2000 local people on the public housing waiting list and insufficient new stock, this was obviously not enough.”
Mr Dwyer said housing was likely to remain a key focus, with “unusual” solutions like vacant home resumption and short-term accommodation taxes expected to emerge.
He said it was necessary to know the cause of the crisis, how many homes were needed and a solution in the long and short term.
Mr Dwyer said it was possible for the state to pull levers to manage and moderate the rental home crisis.
Townsville Enterprise has also been advocating for more affordable housing, with the accommodation availability putting a dampener on attracting skills to the region.
CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said the region also needed investment in long-term projects like CopperString 2.0, Hells Gates Dam and the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct.
She said these projects would help ensure North Queensland’s future.
“Our health and education sectors require urgent funding to unlock projects like TropIQ, which will cement our region as a global leader in tropical knowledge and tropical health, generating thousands of new- economy jobs and producing billions of dollars’ worth of economic activity over the next decade,” Ms Brumme-Smith said.
“We believe this budget needs to pay dividends to the regions that over the past two years have kept this state succeeding.
“There are increases to mining royalties coming into play, and the concern for us is that we’re being performance punished for our efforts keeping Queensland moving over the last two and half years.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Economist calls for Queensland Government to boost social housing spending
LNP targets island voters with bus stop, road, housing promises
With just 11 days until election day, the LNP is unloading a bag of promises for Magnetic Island and Palm Island voters — ranging from housing to fixing a controversial bus stop issue.
Free events foster connections for Veterans Health Week
As Veterans Health Week kicked off on Sunday, a Townsville-based charity has launched a series of free events aimed at boosting the social, physical, and mental well-being of local veterans and their families.