Qld housing crisis: Qld Govt accused of having no plan

Queensland’s housing industry has accused the state government of having no plan as hundreds of thousands are in housing stress.

Hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders are in housing stress, with many locked in a desperate and futile bid to find somewhere to live – and the industry accusing the government of having no plan.

Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh said the problem had actually been getting worse in the eight months since the state government’s housing summit, with 300,000 Queenslanders – more than the population of Townsville, Cairns or Toowoomba – now with unmet housing needs.

And state Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon has effectively conceded any solution is years away, with just one 20th of the government’s promised 13,500 new social and affordable homes currently under construction.

Ms Scanlon said it would not be until at least 2027 – four years from now – that the full $5bn in promised new homes would be delivered.

“We don’t have a plan that looks at the scale of this problem,” Ms McVeigh said.

“The housing crisis is currently affecting so many Queenslanders who haven’t previously struggled to find homes – there are a lot of people in full-time employment who are struggling, living in cars, in tents, couch surfing.”

Ms Scanlon, who was promoted to housing minister after months of sustained pressure on the portfolio in mid-May, said the government was doing everything it could to get more people into safe, appropriate homes sooner.

“We have also introduced a 12-month frequency limit on rent rises, like other states, which comes into effect on 1 July and will help to stabilise the market,” she said.

Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon

But the government has been accused of failing to predict the disastrous circumstances which have contributed to the crisis over a number of years, including ongoing rental reforms, changes to lending policy, a shortfall of new social homes and low building approvals.

REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said Queensland faced a perfect storm of circumstances which had led to the crisis, including ongoing legislative changes, and measures like the short-run changes to land tax laws had further driven investors out of Queensland.

“I think we’ve got to call out the elephant in the room and say, we also just haven’t seen governments doing enough to encourage more supply,” she said.

“Thirty-six per cent of us rent our homes; we know that the vast majority of that supply comes from mum-and-dad investors.

“And I am often surprised at the level of, frankly, contempt that is sometimes shown towards this cohort, particularly over the last few years.

“As we see rents rise I understand the psychology of wanting someone to blame, but we’re pointing the finger at the wrong at the wrong group of people.

“It’s a dangerous strategy that government is adopting when they put their noses up at the group who actually are doing the majority of the heavy lifting when it comes to housing.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said he had been shocked to meet people across southeast Queensland forced to leave the state – despite having steady employment – simply because they couldn’t find a property.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli

“I don’t want to underscore how important it is for everyone to have a home, and I don’t want to walk away from the failures on social housing which have contributed to this problem,” he said.

“But I never thought I’d see the day where people kiss their partner good morning, leave them in a tent, which is pitched beside a car and, and then drive off to work. It’s unbelievable.”

Ms Scanlon denied there was evidence to support the claim that changes to residential tenancy laws had impacted investor activity in the private rental market, and “independent surveys show tenancy law is rarely a factor in decisions to dispose of rental properties”.

“Through our Stage 1 rental reforms, Deloitte provided independent economic analysis which found that the changes made would have a negligible impact on the private rental market,” she said.

Mr Crisafulli accused the state government of making the issue worse by repeatedly making changes to tenancy and investor laws – and it was those who were the most at risk of homelessness were affected the greatest.

“Whenever governments are looked upon as being risky, the flow on ironically hurts the most vulnerable,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if that risk is investment from the smallest of individuals or the largest company, in the end risk translates to the person who can least afford it.”

“The housing summit was when the state government finally accepted responsibility for what they’ve created over the seven years – and it’s hard to point to a single thing that’s come from it.

“It was all about relieving political pressure and unfortunately, it just hasn’t worked.”

Originally published as Qld housing crisis: Qld Govt accused of having no plan