‘Who’s responsible?’ Vandals target languishing state-owned property empty for five months

Despite a desperate need for low-cost housing stock, multiple housing commission properties across Cairns lie languishing and empty, including one Manunda house that’s been vacant for five months.

SINGLE mum with three children Holly Vincent wants to move into this three-bedroom public housing home at Manoora that has been vacant since January.

But the Department of Housing has knocked back her application.

The house at 17 Enmore St became empty in January and since then vandals have moved on the house to smash windows and graffiti the building.

In a shocking waste of state resources and despite desperate need for low-cost housing stock multiple housing commission properties across Cairns lie languishing and empty, including one Manunda house that’s been vacant for five months.

The house at 17 Enmore Street Manoora has been boarded up for months. Picture: Brian Cassey

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Knee high grass and junk were removed soon after the house at 17 Enmore St became vacant in January and since then vandals have moved on the house to smash windows and graffiti the building.

Around the corner from 17 Enmore St another housing commission property at 4 Witney St lies vacant and bordered up – a practice not uncommon according to residents in the area.

Single mum with three children Holly Vincent is furious that an application to move from a two bedroom house into the larger Enmore St property had been knocked back.

“When I rang up about it she said it’s something to do with the communities and they can’t touch them,” she said.

“But you give them to people that treat them like crap (and) meanwhile you got mums with kids that have nowhere to live, it makes no sense.

“And I know there is a bloke two doors up from me that’s got a three-bedroom house and it’s just him on his own, why can’t we swap?”

After watching in frustration for months Enmore St resident Julia Stark is speaking out about the mismanagement of housing resources.

Holly Vincent and her children Levi (9) and Amolika (2) want to move into the boarded up three bedroom house at house at 17 Enmore Street. Picture: Brian Cassey

Ms Stark has made a complaint about the management of the property and the trouble encountered when trying to report vandalism at the house.

“As a taxpayer I’m incensed by the lack of discussion, action or care anyone seems to have about (the) property or the people who would happily live in it,” she said.

The Manunda homeowner was concerned about ongoing vandalism of the next door property after an attack on the house last month.

“The old bloke (next door) watched three “kids” come onto the property,” she said.

“We’re attracting undesirables,” she said.

And last week Ms Stark said someone had tried to gain access to the house by climbing through a broken window.

“It may not be a priority job, but who else is responsible?

“The property (is) currently making no revenue, has graffiti starting to collect, and is insecure because it has been locked up untenanted for five months of this year.”

The Enmore Street property photographed earlier this year. Picture: Supplied

It's understood previous tenants of an Enmore Street house had people living in the garden shed. Picture: Supplied

Citing “privacy” issues the department refused to comment on the situation at Enmore St when contacted by the Cairns Post and claimed the property was tenanted despite the house having gas disconnected, being boarded up and being without tenant belongings.

“Public housing tenants, like any other person, sometimes need to be away from their home and these absences can be for a range of reasons, such as seeking medical treatment, work, study or training, or family, kinship and cultural responsibilities,” a spokeswoman said.

In Cairns on Friday Labor housing and homelessness spokesman Jason Clare unveiled a pre-election pledge to invest $12bn nationally to address a national housing crisis.

“We need to make it easier for people to buy a house, we need to make it easier for people to rent a house, we also need to make sure that people have a roof over their head if they don’t have one now,” he said.

“So in addition to this I have also committed that if we win the next election we will develop a comprehensive housing and homeless strategy for the nation that involves working with the state governments, local governments, I was taking to Bob Manning, the Mayor about this the other day.”

According to Department of Housing figures social housing represents only 4 per cent of the total housing stock in Cairns – 10 months was the average wait time for a two-bedroom apartment in Cairns.

The Queensland Housing strategy 2017-2027 has a $1.6 billion budget and says in the first five years 137 new homes will be built in Cairns before 2022 although it is unclear what’s been built to date.

ANGLICARE RESPONSE

Anglicare chief Ian Roberts said social housing need had doubled in the past 12 months to now number about 2000 applicants.

“I have been the CEO in the Cairns region for 10 years and we are facing a significant housing shortage (and) I see the situation as worsening over the past year,” he said.

“We need investment in bringing skill sets to the region, investment in (housing) construction, investment in jobs is really what is necessary in the region.

“It’s an issue that needs to be addressed by all forms of government.”

“The solution is to try to be able to accommodate people into short term accommodation which isn’t actually appropriate in the short term.”

In a dire situation for families facing homelessness private sector businesses including Cairns Student Lodge in Smithfield and English language school Sun Pacific College in Kewarra Beach have signed up to provide much needed accommodation.

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Originally published as ‘Who’s responsible?’ Vandals target languishing state-owned property empty for five months