Greens win no love from Cairns business community with “preposterous” housing proposal

The Cairns Chamber of Commerce has slammed the Queensland Greens’ move to force developers and landowners to hand over propertiesto the government for public housing.

The Queensland Greens have won no love from the Cairns business community with their proposal to force developers and landowners to hand over properties to the government for use as public housing.

Greens MP for South Brisbane Dr Amy McMahon introduced a bill to state parliament on April 19 that proposed a quarter of units in all Queensland residential construction projects built from July 2024, that contained 10 units or more, would be transferred to the state.

The same would apply to subdivisions that divided a property into 10 or more lots.

A spokesman for Dr McMahon’s office said the model would not allow for developers to be compensated; instead, properties would be handed over as a form of taxation.

When reading the “inclusionary zoning bill” to parliament, Dr McMahon said the proposal was a “straightforward” way to course correct Queensland’s plummeting housing supply.

But Cairns Chamber of Commerce CEO Patricia O’Neill said the policy, if supported by the government, would destroy the development industry in months.

Patricia O'Neill, Cairns Chamber of Commerce CEO, called the Green’s proposal “preposterous”. Picture: Supplied

“(This bill) is possibly the most preposterous attempt at a solution to the housing shortage,” Ms O’Neill said.

“A quarter of a development of any kind – residential land, apartment block or commercial precinct – is in (the) majority of cases the entire profit margin of the project as a whole and that is if the project doesn’t experience any issues. Removing 25 per cent of a project’s sellable product would render every development project in Australia untenable, especially in the regions where profit margins are typically lower.”

Ms O’Neill said the government should reduce excessive bureaucracy and environmental regulation during the development application process to increase housing supply.

South Brisbane MP Dr Amy McMahon introduced the bill to parliament on April 19. Picture: David Clark

“The government needs to be looking at ways to drastically incentivise development … and take steps to de-risk low-cost housing to make them more attractive,”

she said.

“It also needs to provide more support to local councils … and allow local councils more opportunity to waive certain fees and costs in relation to stimulating housing projects.”

Despite the rebuke, the proposal has raised the issue of the Far North’s affordable housing supply a week out from Queensland parliament’s regional sitting in Cairns.

RDA Tropical North chairwoman Hurriyet Babacan said multiple strategies were needed to balance the region’s waning housing supply. Picture: Supplied

Hurriyet Babacan, chair of Regional Development Australia Tropical North, said multiple strategies were needed to deliver a balanced housing market.

“Housing is a major barrier of recruitment and retention of skilled staff to the region. We can attract industry but can we attract a workforce?,” Ms Babacan said.

“We’ve got to keep the private sector’s interests in mind, as well as what public housing providers can supply.

“It requires a systematic rethink … I can’t see evidence of this yet.”

Cairns’ Deputy Mayor Terry James said the proposal was not appropriate for the city. Picture: Isaac McCarthy

Deputy mayor Terry James said the proposal wasn’t appropriate for Cairns and would only force developers to inflate costs.

“It’s hard for developers to make a profit on development in the current climate,” Cr James said.

“The financial risk developers are currently taking is incredible.”

Cr James said the state government’s planned land tax concessions for build-to-rent developments was a more appropriate strategy.

“Rather than compelling, it’s incentivising. That’s probably something that’s more likely to work when put together with the council’s incentive policies,” he said.

A spokesman for Dr McMahon’s office said the bill would now proceed through six months of submissions before being brought back to parliament for debate and a vote.

Originally published as Greens win no love from Cairns business community with “preposterous” housing proposal