Editorial: Housing crisis goes from bad to worse

Queenslanders need to have confidence the government is doing everything it can to address the housing crisis, writes the editor.

Queensland’s peak real estate body is right to warn the state government and opposition against offering short-term political sweeteners at the expense of long-term meaningful change to fix the housing crisis.

It has now been almost two years since the state government convened a landmark summit to address the critical issue after sustained pressure during The Courier-Mail’s Hitting Home campaign.

But there have been no significant inroads made in fixing the crisis.

Tent cities are popping up in the suburbs, more than half of the 44,000 people on the social housing register are considered at risk of homelessness, and building approvals are down.

There has been a seismic shift in Queensland’s property landscape since the pandemic – just one in four suburbs across Brisbane are now considered affordable.

In 2018, 65 per cent of Brisbane suburbs were affordable.

In that time the median house price has jumped from $670,000 to $920,000.

Rents have also jumped by as much as 35 per cent in some parts of the state – in some cases going up by $100 or more a week.

Building costs have skyrocketed with the price of materials, and with many construction workers lured to government sites by the CFMEU’s Best Practice Industry Conditions – extravagant pay and perks – it’s harder to get builders on private jobs.

It’s never been tougher to rent or buy in this state, so what is desperately needed is more social housing for those being squeezed out of the market at a rapid rate.

When the Hitting Home campaign began in 2022, the prevailing ask from all the industry groups was for a summit to get those at the coalface of the crisis into a room with the government to come up with real solutions.

Then premier Annastacia Palaszczuk committed to and held the summit that is to the government’s credit, but so much more needs to be done.

It has become clear this isn’t a problem that will go away anytime soon, and Band-Aid fixes that might win votes, but not make a real dent in the crisis, should not be given preference over long-term, tangible solutions.

It is time to reflect on the actions over the past two years that have worked and those that did not.

Any plans that have not got off the ground should be fast-tracked – or ruthlessly dumped if they are not going to make a real impact.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland has also called on both parties to use the state budget process next week to match housing goals with transparent reporting and monthly key performance indicators.

The Courier-Mail has long been an advocate for transparency in state government data – and this should be a no-brainer.

Queenslanders need to have confidence the government is doing everything it can to
address the issue, and the best way to do that is have the data there in black and white – and in a format that is easy to understand, and easily comparable.

Whichever party wins the October election will have to make a dent in the housing crisis during the next term, or face being voted out in 2028.

They should think long and hard about which housing policies they will take to the election, and have confidence they’re going to work.

We simply cannot get another two years down the track and be still talking about the same problems.

NEVER FORGET LESSONS OF D-DAY

There are few dates that resonate more strongly through history than June 6, 1944.

D-Day. When an Allied air and sea armada landed more than 150,000 troops in Normandy from England, setting in train a process that would sweep the Nazis out of France before – crucially – meeting our Russian allies on enemy soil ahead of the German surrender in May, 1945.

Today, 80 years on, their achievement is still awe-inspiring. There was no guarantee of success when the forces of good threw themselves upon a shore occupied by evil. Failure would have been catastrophic, but brave leaders like future US president General Dwight D. Eisenhower knew that inaction and hesitation would have been even worse.

While the invasion force was made up almost exclusively of British, American and Canadian troops (Australian soldiers were busy fighting the Japanese in the Pacific), thousands of Aussie airmen and hundreds of sailors supported the landings. They should never be forgotten.

Today we honour the brave men and women who helped free Europe from tyranny, and at this uncertain time in history, we hope our leaders have learned the lessons of exactly 80 years ago today.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Housing crisis goes from bad to worse