Gympie public housing in decline during rental squeeze

Gympie MP Tony Perrett has revealed there was a decline in the number of government owned public housing in Gympie despite the region having one of the tightest rental markets in the state.

Gympie MP Tony Perrett said there was a decline in the number of public housing properties in the Gympie state electorate as revealed by two questions he put to the State Government in the past two years.​

Gympie’s extremely tight rental market is not getting any help from the public housing sector with the number of welfare properties shrinking in the past two years.

Gympie MP Tony Perrett said there was a decline in the number of public housing properties in the Gympie state electorate as revealed by two questions he put to the State Government in the past two years.

He said in October 2019 the State Government said it owned and managed 308 public housing properties in the region.

But it had only 296 on its books in March 2021, according to the response to his latest question on notice.

This was despite the region’ registering one of the tightest rental markets in Queensland.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s latest quarterly rental report has shows Gympie vacancies dropped from 0.4 per cent to 0.3 per cent between March and June this year.

Mr Perrett said he has yet to receive an answer as to why public housing numbers have dropped.

He said Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch pointed him to public data found on Queensland Government Open Data Portal following a query into the number of people on the public housing registry in Gympie.

“I think there’s more questions in the non-answer, or lack of response to that very important question,” he said.

Mr Perrett said his office is inundated with Gympie region residents struggling under the rental squeeze and the insufficient number of public housing properties.

His most recent letter to Ms Enoch on May 20 asked for the Minister’s support for more funding towards public housing in the region.

“My office receives calls from distressed renters who find it harder to find somewhere to live,” he wrote.

“The supply of welfare housing is shrinking as homelessness soars across the region.”

Mr Perrett said he is yet to receive a response from the Minister.

“When you’re in opposition it’s extremely challenging,” he said.

“The sad reality is there’s a desperate shortage.”

The Gympie Times has reached out to Ms Enoch for comment.

Originally published as Gympie public housing in decline during rental squeeze