State Government endorses Palm Island’s steps towards 99-year home leases

It’s been a lengthy journey for Palm Island residents to have the ability to own their own homes, but there are signs that another massive step has been taken.

Townsville MP Scott Stewart published a photograph on social media of his visit to Palm Island, with resident Leon who he said would like to own his own home, and Mayor Alf Lacey. Picture: Facebook.

Palm Island could finally be getting what its leaders have sought for years, which is the chance for residents to own their homes.

The State Government has endorsed the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council’s home ownership scheme, in which 300 social homes owned by the council within the next 10 years could be leased to residents on 99 year terms.

Townsville MP Scott Stewart visited the island on Thursday, during which he said the government would work in partnership with the council to address legislative barriers preventing home ownership.

“If approved and implemented successfully for an initial cohort of homeowners, the scheme could be rolled out in a staged process to support the ambition of making more homes available for residents to purchase,” he said.

The MP said the struggle to convince Brisbane policy makers that Palm Island residents deserved their own home had been ongoing for 40 years.

Palm Island Aboriginal Council’s chief executive Michael Bissell described the MP’s announcement as “quite a significant occasion” and as “a great day for Palm Island.”

Recently Mr Bissell listed home ownership as part of the council’s election wishlist, and provided a letter addressed to the Department of Housing’s director general several months ago, in which he emphasised the lengthy journey overcoming legislative barriers to achieve home ownership.

10 years ago the Queensland Government passed legislation to allow people living in Indigenous communities to transfer land from communal ownership to free hold title, which would support home ownership.

“Very little has progressed in 10 years,” Mr Bissell said.

There were several legislative barriers obstructing home ownership, including that the council could not enter into loans without approval from the Treasury.

Another issue was the requirement for the leasee to be able to pay a large sum upfront to lease and purchase the land.

“This is clearly unachievable as very few Indigenous people can meet that requirement and they can’t get a loan – commercial or IBA – as there is no market, and in the event of a default, the lending institution can’t recover their investment,” he said.

Premier Steven Miles said it was important that every Queensland family had the chance to own their own home, and that his government was working with Indigenous councils to invest in more homes.

“Breaking down housing the barriers for First Nations Queenslanders to purchase their own homes is critically important to our combined effort to close the gap,” Mr Miles said.

KAP candidate Margie Ryder said she was unwilling to comment on Palm Island issues until she visited the community.

Ms Ryder said she was planning a two-day trip to the island to meet with locals.

“I probably can’t comment and won’t comment on anything until I actually go there, listen, learn, then I’ll make some decisions,” she said.

LNP candidate Adam Baillie did not speak on Palm Island’s home ownership scheme specifically, but described the Labor Government’s efforts with housing as “a decade of inaction” and said there was a low rate of home ownership in Queensland compared to across the country.

“The LNP put home ownership on the agenda last year and has announced a Boost to Buy policy which will close the deposit gap and get more people into owning their first home in communities across Queensland,” he said.

Originally published as State Government endorses Palm Island’s steps towards 99-year home leases