Redland takes on minister over housing crisis claims as Steven Miles strengthens expert panel

A southside council, accused of failing to update its housing strategy, says it is not to blame for the state’s housing crisis and never received a ministerial directive to prepare a new one.

A southside council has lashed out at claims it was to blame for the state’s housing crisis.

Redland City Council said it had never received a ministerial directive to update its 2011 housing strategy, despite a scathing attack by deputy Premier Steven Miles in parliament last week.

Mr Miles added to his parliamentary salvo yesterday when he reactivated a panel of experts to deal with recalcitrant councils which fail to heed directives to open up more land for housing.

The nine-strong State’s Housing Supply Expert Panel will advise councils on housing supply and ways to provide an extra 30,000 dwellings across the region by 2041.

It was one of the measures Mr Miles instigated this week ahead of Friday’s Southeast Queensland Regional Planning Committee, which will focus on the housing shortage.

Yesterday, Redland City Council returned fire claiming it had never been issued a ministerial directive and had met all the state housing targets set over the past decade.

It denied it had been withholding land for development.

Redland City Council said it never received a ministerial directive to update its housing strategy.

“Redlands Housing Strategy 2011-2031 is in no way responsible for any housing crisis in the state,” the council said.

“Council has not received a ministerial direction from the deputy premier to prepare a new housing strategy.

“The Queensland government’s own Land Supply and Development Monitoring Report found Redland City has sufficient residential land to meet expected needs and is one of the few councils in southeast Queensland achieving its dwelling targets, in terms of supply and demand and housing mix, imposed by the SEQ Regional Plan.”

For Redland to comply with existing targets, set more than 10 years ago, the council must approve at least 860 houses in urban areas each year until 2041.

Redland said it had approved 9970 building applications since January 2011, including a massive 304 residential building applications on the southern Moreton Bay islands in the last financial year.

The bay islands and many parts of Redland, including at Redland Bay, above, have no sewers and rely on sewage tankers.

The bay islands carried the majority of the building burden with the council approving 1131 houses on the islands from 2017/18 to 2021/22.

Long-time island resident Greg Hartay-Szabo said there was major discontent growing on the islands.

“Especially with the lack of parking, poor future planning and lack of long-term planning,” he said.

“There’s a lack of any serious short-term sewerage plans and even the stalling of the island road sealing program is putting more pressure on the islands’ scant infrastructure.

“The building on the islands cannot continue at this rate without money spent on infrastructure including ferry ramps and carparks.”

The council said it had invested more than $18.6 million in infrastructure on the bay islands over the past three financial years and another $11.04 million was budgeted for 2022-23.

The budgeted island money would be to upgrade pontoons, footpaths, parks, ferry terminals, commuter interchanges on Lamb and Karragarra Islands, drainage and sealing of roads.

A map showing the sewerage treatment plant and its distance from the 3000-lot Shoreline estate. The state will loan the developer, Lendlease, $15 million for the facility which will later be managed by Redland City Council and used by other housing estates.

Despite meeting targets, land releases in southern Redland Bay have been delayed until a sewerage treatment system is built with the state loaning developer Lendlease $15 million for that project.

However, land in southern Thornlands is being investigated for housing subdivision after a group of vocal landowners started pushing the council more than 10 years ago.

Redland council said it had completed investigations and community consultation and a proposed major amendment to the town plan had been lodged with the state.