‘I’m glad you’re looking at my social media’: Premier defends housing posts

Annastacia Palaszczuk has fired back at Opposition claims she is living in a social media bubble, after she spruiked her government’s social housing spend on Twitter just hours after a scathing report on the issue.

The Premier has been accused of living in a social media bubble after she spruiked her government’s social housing spend on Twitter just hours after a scathing report revealed that very spend wouldn’t be enough.

Quizzed about the posts on Wednesday, Annastacia Palaszczuk fired back – saying she was “glad” reporters were paying attention to her social media accounts.

The Auditor-General handed down a damning report on Tuesday, which highlighted how the government’s social housing plans wouldn’t be enough to keep up with the surging demand for homes.

The report detailed a string of failures over how the social housing register was being run, including how the government doesn’t do any modelling to determine future social housing needs.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Tara Croser

In the hours after the report was handed down, Mr Palaszczuk took to social media to talk up her government’s social housing investment – but she made no mention of the Auditor-General’s report.

“The Minister (Leeanne Enoch) addressed it (the report),” Ms Palaszczuk said on Wednesday when she was asked about the Twitter posts, which included a picture branded with her name.

“I’m glad you’re looking at my social media. That’s fantastic. It’s great to see that you’re paying a lot of attention to my social media. Thank you.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli seized on the government’s response to the report on Wednesday, accusing them of failing to acknowledge how serious the housing crisis was.

“We have working Queenslanders living in tents and cars and the Premier is living in a social media bubble,” he said.

LNP housing spokesman Tim Mander also took aim at the Premier’s Twitter posts, saying they showed Ms Palaszczuk was “tone-deaf” to the thousands of Queenslanders on the housing register.

It’s true. No Queensland government in 77 years has invested this much into social housing.

We’re doing it because I know how important it is to have the security of a roof over your head. pic.twitter.com/MCtHH78lUv

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 12, 2022

In his report, Auditor-General Brendan Worrall acknowledged the government’s plan to start construction on 6,365 homes by 2025 would boost supply. But he also pointed out that it would not keep up with demand.

Ms Palaszczuk said her government was committed to implementing all of the recommendations made by the Auditor-General in his report.

“I think everyone needs to understand too that there are pressures on housing across the country,” the Premier said.

“Everybody is feeling this. We have a short supply of the private rental market at the moment.

“This is a very complex issue, but it’s one that we’re of course taking very seriously.”

The government set aside $1.9bn in last year’s budget for its housing and homelessness plan, and also established a $1bn housing investment fund.

But in this year’s budget, the government did not commit to any more funds beyond what it had already promised in 2021.

Originally published as ‘I’m glad you’re looking at my social media’: Premier defends housing posts