‘Getting desperate’: Housing crisis impacting Port Douglas jobs bonanza
A regional housing crisis is threatening to undermine an employment bonanza in this sought after Far North town with a wide range of professions now hiring.
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THE regional housing crisis is threatening to undermine an employment bonanza in a Far North seaside town ahead of an expected bumper high season.
Jobs in a wide range of professions are abundant in Port Douglas, with recruitment site Seek currently stacked with plush opportunities from senior management and resort maintenance, customer service, event and production crew, bar and wait staff, baristas, hairdressers, boilermakers and carpenters.
Entrada Travel Group has also advertised for a number of roles on the iconic Daintree River ferry including ticket booth and boat attendants, deckhands and ferry drivers.
Douglas Shire Mayor Michael Kerr said “the only problem is we have nowhere to put the workers.”
“We have got so much work up here at the moment it’s just the housing situation is getting worse, not better,” Cr Kerr said.
“There is not much we can do about it at the moment.
“It’s one of the most beautiful parts of the world, the living conditions up here are amazing, the reef the rainforest and a great lifestyle.
“So it is the perfect place to come and live and work, and there is plenty of work up here in all sorts of occupations but the only problem is we have nowhere to put the workers. “
It comes as the Dougies Backpackers Resort was likely to be snapped up by a private buyer and turned into an up-market resort.
The Port Douglas Road venue has been used as temporary accommodation for hundreds of hospitality workers during the pandemic.
It has been on the market since September 2021.
Cr Kerr said the Douglas Shire’s regional plan needed to be changed to enable more wide-scale subdivision and suitable housing options.
“There is not much we can do. There is land out there that people want to to subdivide but our hands are tied.
“We need our regional plan changed desperately.
“It’s 13 years old, it’s out of date and its whole purpose was to restrict growth.
“Even backpackers who are going to be coming into the region are going to struggle to find accommodation.
“We are getting desperate.”
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Originally published as ‘Getting desperate’: Housing crisis impacting Port Douglas jobs bonanza
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