Gold Coast City Council plans to draft new corporate plan involving plan to fix housing price crisis

As students are spending up to 50 per cent of their income on property and the Gold Coast market shows no signs of cooling plans are being put in place for affordable housing.

The Gold Coast City Council is rethinking its planning priorities for the next five years as the cost of one-bedroom units in beach suburbs rises to $1.5m.

Veteran city councillor Daphne McDonald flagged the hot topic as the most recent full council meeting approved a draft corporate plan to be considered for public consultation.

The new corporate plan for the Gold Coast being driven by council.

Councillor Daphne McDonald at the City of Gold Coast's council meeting. Picture: Jerad Williams

The plan aims for achievable short-term goals so the city can work on its vision to secure real benefits from co-hosting the 2032 Olympic Games.

“In the area that I represent some of the cheapest properties are around $1m,” Ms McDonald said.

“What I’m hearing loud and clear is that the concern is we just don’t have affordable housing on the Gold Coast. That is my concern.

“A one-bedroom unit, very small, is costing $1.5m. If you have a family, certainly a $1.5m unit is hard to obtain.”

Mayor Tom Tate questioned whether the high prices suggested were the average, but agreed affordability must be debated.

“When we go to community consultation we will get that feedback,” he said.

Senior councillor Bob La Castra said he was aware of 18-year-old students spending at least 50 per cent of their incomes on rent.

Mayor Tate told him: “Don’t get me wrong mate. I want the next generation to afford the opportunity we all had when we built our first dwelling.

Key points of the draft corporate plan for the Gold Coast.

“We will do our best to make sure we will preserve our lifestyle and, secondly, affordable housing for young kids to get in there. We want to make sure they are living the Australian dream.”

But councillors admitted they could continue to debate for another three or four hours and not reach an agreement on the best way to get affordable housing delivered in the city.

William Owen-Jones, who worked to secure more social housing in Palm Beach before being elected to council, cautioned Ms McDonald that tougher planning choices would need to be made.

He said requests by councillors asking for extra basement car parking could add between $40,000 to $60,000 to costs, let alone the impact of reducing setbacks.

“We need to discuss a lot of options,” he said.

Mayor Tate agreed, saying additional setbacks “takes away density” and forces the prices of property to increase.

Mayor Tom Tate brought down his 10th budget today at the Gold Coast City Council chambers at Evandale. Councillor William Owen-Jones. Picture: Glenn Hampson

The draft corporate plan focuses on five key areas and includes “liveable places”, diversifying the city’s economy and ensuring the Coast maintains a “vibrant lifestyle”.

Council CEO Tim Baker indicated the themes would have set KPIs once public consultation was completed.

“They are a bit loose. We need to tighten them up,” he told councillors.

The existing corporate plan expires on June 30 and officers warned there was a “tight deadline” to get public feedback to the new proposals and have the final version of the new document finished before the council budget. It must go “live” on July 1.

HOUSING A KEY ELECTION ISSUE

Hundreds of vulnerable families in a key election seat will soon be fighting for just four homes because of the scrapping of a controversial scheme.

Data obtained by the Bulletin shows struggling households in Forde will be severely hit when the federal government phases out the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS).

Those in Upper Coomera, Ormeau and Pimpama will be most affected.

The scheme allows low and middle-income households to rent a property for 20 per cent less than market rates. As of March, 241 NRAS properties were listed in Forde. However, when the scheme ends in 2025, there will be just four.

Support workers warn a vast majority of households getting help in a hot Coast property market could be made homeless when their rents increase.

“It’s actually unfathomable as to how services are going to respond,” says Jade Cronan-Thompson, the aged care and disability manager at not-for-profit Footprints Community.

“The removal of properties from NRAS is scary.

“Staff on the ground are extremely worried about how they’re going to respond to the needs of people.

“Someone said to me it’s going to get to a point where we have to pick and choose who to support and who’s going to get left behind.”

The Bulletin last month reported that rental vacancies on the Gold Coast had reached a record low of 0.4 per cent and rents were spiking $150 a week.

Just under 5000 Gold Coasters are waiting on average 40 months – the longest in the state – for social housing. Fewer than 100 properties have been created in the northern Gold Coast in the last six years.

Queensland Council of Social Services CEO Aimee McVeigh said: “We’ve seen approximately 2000 Queensland households exit the scheme already.

“Community organisations (are) reporting that people have been asked to pay an extra $200 per week in rent or else vacate the property.

“Others say when their property exits the scheme, they’ll be expected to pay rents that are up to 90 per cent of their income.

“With rental vacancy rates at record lows across the state and 50,301 people already on the social housing register, the end of the federal government’s scheme spells disaster.”

Housing and cost of living struggles are expected to be a key focus for the upcoming May 21 election.

Forde has been tipped as a close fight for LNP MP Bert van Manen, despite him holding the seat with an 8.6 per cent margin. He came close to losing in 2016 when Labor’s Des Hardman won 49.37 per cent of the vote.

The LNP’s needs to retain the seat to remain in government.

Political expert Dr Paul Williams told the Bulletin: “Housing affordability is an issue that could disrupt the LNP’s vote.

“(Forde) has become a bellwether seat in recent times. It’s the sort of seat Labor should be able to win in Queensland.

“The LNP is losing votes in Forde but they’re not going to Labor, they’re going to these right-wing minor parties.”

The election would boil down to two issues – the traits people wanted in a Prime Minister and the cost of living, Mr Williams predicted.

Labor this week announced a Help to Buy policy, in which it would contribute up to 40 per cent of the purchase price for a new home and up to 30 per cent of the price of an existing home.

The Greens and Palmer United Party have also made cost of living and housing main election issues.

Footprints’ Ms Cronan-Thompson challenged poll candidates to “spend a week” with her staff.

“It’s all well and good to talk about it, to see stats, but I don’t think you can actually grasp a real understanding for what is happening unless they spend a week or two doing what our staff are doing.”