Meaghan Scanlon reveals goals in first interview as Housing Minister

New Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon has revealed what the Premier has asked her to achieve in a role close to her heart for personal reasons. Read the full interview.

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon says she wants to get new homes “up off the ground as quickly as possible”, admitting the government knows Queensland has a “massive problem” with housing.

Ms Scanlon, 30, was on Thursday promoted to the crucial portfolio with instructions from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to deliver results on the state government’s more than $3 billion investment in the area.

“The Premier kind of said it (on Thursday) – she said the two biggest issues impacting Queenslanders are health and housing. So I think she gets the significance of it,” Ms Scanlon said.

Unlike predecessor Leeanne Enoch, who was also Arts Minister, Ms Scanlon has not been given any other portfolios, allowing her to focus solely on the housing crisis.

“I think what the Premier really wants is a minister directly and solely responsible to really wrangle all of (the government’s) work and make sure we deliver,” she said.

“Deliver on that record investment, and on all of the reform and work that’s happening across government as quickly as possible.

“The Premier was very clear that she wanted a single minister to focus on housing. She knows that it’s a massive problem at the moment and that’s why she wants one person to head up the role.”

Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon is sworn in as Housing Minister during a ceremony at Government House in Brisbane on Thursday. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

Ms Scanlon is faced with the daunting task of dealing with a social housing waiting list of approximately 50,000 people – equivalent to the population of Gympie – which has been exacerbated by record interstate immigration and soaring rental costs.

Nowhere has the problem been more apparent than in her home town of the Gold Coast, where scarce housing supply and rising costs have forced many low-income families to leave the city.

“It’s obviously incredibly concerning,” Ms Scanlon said.

“There’s a whole lot of flow-on impacts too, particularly if you’ve got children, taking them out of school. It’s a huge issue.

“It also has an impact on our economy. I’ve heard from tourism and businesses that are feeling the impact of labour shortages. If you don’t have people able to live in you city, that puts a further challenge on a whole lot of other industries. So I think we do need to find a solution.”

The dining table at the government housing property in Moe, Victoria, where Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon’s mother Margaret grew up.

Ms Scanlon said she was “really excited” for the ­challenge of housing, despite admitting some “mixed feelings” about having to leave an environment portfolio she also relished.

She said her passion for the new position stemmed from her family background.

“Both my parents grew up in government housing,” Ms Scanlon said. “My mum grew up in Moe, which is a little area in Victoria. She’s got five brothers and sisters, so six of them all up in what I think was a three-bedroom house. A lot of people in a very small house.

“And my dad grew up in public housing in Inala.

“My parents both drilled into me from an early age the importance of assisting people who might be doing it tough.

“ … My mum was a beneficiary of free education from the Whitlam era as well, so I feel like I’ve see the power of social reform and how that can change people’s lives.”

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon's mother Margaret in the government housing property in Moe, Victoria, that she grew up in.

Unusually for a cabinet minister, Ms Scanlon is also a renter.

Her age – she turned 30 in February – is also outside the norm for the top tier of politics.

However both factors put her in a peer group that understands the housing challenge better than most.

“Like many people in my age group I’m a renter and so I think that gives me a perspective that some others might not have and hopefully provides a voice for young people,” Ms Scanlon said.

“Hopefully they know that they have a voice in government that’s on their side.”

Ms Scanlon said the state government was busily exploring every possible avenue to boost housing supply, but needed buy-in from both federal and local governments. In recent months the state has appeared frustrated with councillors, changing the Planning Act to reduce their ability to assess new developments, and declining to approve a number of amendments to the Gold Coast’s City Plan.

However Ms Scanlon’s appointment was warmly welcomed by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and she said she was eager to work with council to find new ways to boost the supply of affordable housing.

“Supply is really important but affordability as part of that supply is important too. This is why there is so much complexity in this area,” Ms Scanlon said.

“We’re keen to work wherever possible. I’ve got an open door policy. I think the Mayor and all of the city councillors have my number and they can call me and talk to me about these issues.

“Most of the community wants to see politics out of most of this and us just get on and resolve these problems.”

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon at the site of a social housing development under construction in Nerang, which is within her Gaven electorate.

Ms Scanlon pointed to a social housing development in her own Gaven constituency as an example of what could be done.

“I do know from being a local MP, we have around 5500 social homes on the Gold Coast,” she said.

“But obviously (we are) expanding that and finding innovative ways of delivering more housing supply.

“In my electorate we’ve demolished what was basically just a family home and we’ve now put in a number of apartments on that block so we’re delivering more homes on what was previously a fairly large house and block of land.

“We’ve got to look at different ways of doing things.”

Other politicians have proposed different solutions.

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts will address a forum on the Gold Coast on Saturday calling for net zero immigration because of the housing crisis, a suggestion that meets with disdain from Ms Scanlon.

“These are people who voted against penalty rates, a whole range of issues that would actually help working people earn a decent wage and be able to keep a roof over their heads,” Ms Scanlon said.

“So I think a lot of what he says is rank hypocrisy.”

She was dismissive too of LNP claims the reshuffle that has seen her promoted to Housing Minister showed “chaos” reigned in the Palaszczuk government.

“This is coming from the same shadow ministers who were ministers in the Newman government. They’re the same people,” she said.

“We’ve renewed, we’ve changed the faces in our cabinet. They continue to have, in a whole range of (portfolios), ex Newman government ministers.

“The housing spokesperson was the former housing minister in the Newman government that actually saw social housing go backwards by 428 houses.”

New Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon. Photograph: David Kelly.

Whether she or her political opponents win those arguments will ultimately be decided in the state election due to take place in October next year. What, by then, would success look like for the new Housing Minister?

“I think success is making sure we deliver on what we promised to deliver,” Ms Scanlon said.

“We’ve got a record investment, we need to get housing up off the ground as quickly as possible.

“We also need to look at other ways that we can support people through cost of living measures and we need to look at innovative solutions and work with all partners because this is going to require all levels of government, industry, community housing providers.

“ … (By) election time, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to confidently say that we did everything we can to try and help Queenslanders doing it tough and that hopefully we’re leaving a better future for the next generation of young Queenslanders.”

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