‘Being lost’: UDIA reveals key cost-of-living statistic where Townsville is leaving Cairns for dead

Cairns mayor Amy Eden must urgently address the region’s housing shortage with a key statistic currently making Townsville a more liveable city, a peak advocacy group says.

Urban Development Institute of Australia Cairns branch president Nathan Lee Long is concerned with the critically low level of serviced residential land available in the region. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns mayor Amy Eden must urgently address the region’s housing shortage with a disturbing statistic arguably making Townsville a more liveable city than its northern neighbour, a peak advocacy group says.

Around 60 guests attended the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s event on Thursday with Ms Eden and Cairns Regional Council planning director Ed Johnson answering questions from industry leaders.

It’s estimated that just 3500 lots with access to water and sewer services remain within the region with more trunk infrastructure desperately needed to keep pace with the city’s growth.

Increasing the critically low level of serviced residential land by unlocking the southern suburbs’ potential for growth was the first step, UDIA Cairns branch president Nathan Lee Long said.

“There’s a dire need for increasing land supply in a way that keeps Cairns liveable and affordable and keep it a special place,” Mr Lee Long told the audience.

The median housing price in Townsville ($512,000) was now more than $150,000 less than Cairns ($665,000), with stagnant wage growth hurting residents.

“If we go back 10 years Cairns was more affordable than Townsville,” Mr Lee Long said.

“But Cairns is following the trends of capital cities.”

Director of planning, growth and sustainability for Cairns Regional Council Ed Johnson speaks at the UDIA Queensland Cairns mayoral address lunch. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ensuring that land supply was delivered in a sustainable way, engaging all levels of government was important, Mr Johnson said.

“It’s all very good to carve out another 500 lots but we’ll be back here not too long into the future,” Mr Johnson said.

“So we’re aggressively casting (towards the) long (term solutions) and we’re active in the conversation.”

But Mr Lee Long argued that measures to halt the housing and cost-of-living crises must be identified and acted upon now.

“What we’re seeing is that Cairns as a liveables city is being lost,” he said.

“We have extremely low rental vacancies, increasing rents and community housing shortages.”

Increased infill development within existing homes, developing a more contemporary Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) and higher density living where appropriate were all potential solutions, Mr Lee Long said.

Cairns Mayor Amy Eden speaks at the UDIA Queensland Cairns mayoral address lunch. Picture: Brendan Radke

In response to the housing challenges the city faces, Ms Eden quoted a divine hymn she learned in Sunday school while growing up in the Northern Territory.

“There was a song about, ‘Don’t build your house on the sandy land,’” she said.

“‘Don’t build your house on the shore. It might be kind of nice, but you’ll have to do it twice.

“You’ve got to build your house on the rock,’ and I guess that’s where we are.”

The median household income is estimated to be around $85,000 per year in Cairns compared to $80,000 in Townsville.

Originally published as ‘Being lost’: UDIA reveals key cost-of-living statistic where Townsville is leaving Cairns for dead