Mackay’s housing crisis puts everyone at risk of homelessness, Vinnies Queensland report shows

Vinnies Queensland warns Mackay tenants to hold onto the housing they have because ‘it’s almost impossible to find something else’.

Vinnies Queensland has warned Mackay tenants to hold onto their accommodation as the housing market narrows.

In a recent report to highlight National Homelessness Week, the organisation identified that almost 700 people face homelessness in Mackay on any given night with the region clocking only 0.7 per cent rental vacancies for the December 2020 quarter.

Vinnies North Queensland housing co-ordinator Raeleen Etelaaho said various conditions meant the homeless and insecure housing demographic in the region was also changing.

“The [housing] shortage is not limited to people on low income and at this point there are people in our community with decent paying jobs sleeping in their cars and at caravan parks, hostels and other insecure housing options,” Mrs Etelaaho said.

‘There were only nine private rentals in all the Mackay region that someone on a disability payment could afford’.

She said while the casualisation of much of the region’s workforce has meant homeless people could retain jobs, their status of ‘casual employee’ often prohibited them from accessing private accommodation.

But the report highlighted that those most at risk by the scarce housing market were still the region’s most vulnerable, as the insecure housing options were taken up by those with ‘decent pay’.

“(Income of) $250 per week is the maximum affordability for a single person on a disability or age pension,” Mrs Etelaaho said.

“When I had a look just now, there were only nine private rentals in all the Mackay region that someone on a disability payment could afford.

The report showed that an increase in regional migration was also putting pressure on the housing market.

Mrs Etelaaho said the job opportunities in Mackay had attracted people to the region for years with many moving without the need for too much forward planning.

She said people doing that now would be running the risk of themselves or others becoming homeless.

“We’ve seen more and more people arrive in Mackay without any plan, forcing some of the more vulnerable people into homelessness,” she said.

“This also means that people with a poor housing history are less likely to find any accommodation and can be seen in the streets, sleeping rough.”

Mrs Etelaaho said the supply of housing needs to be increased across the board but for now tenants should hold onto what they had.

“It’s almost impossible to find anything else,” she said.

Originally published as Mackay’s housing crisis puts everyone at risk of homelessness, Vinnies Queensland report shows