Extra 12k dwellings to be built in Qld: Mander

ABOUT 250,000 public housing tenants will be moved to the private rental market as the government attempts to change the mentality attached to social housing.

Housing and Public Works Minister Tim Mander. Picture: Richard Coombs

ABOUT 250,000 public housing tenants will be moved to the private rental market as the Newman government attempts to change the mentality attached to social housing.

The management for a majority of the Queensland Government's public housing will also be outsourced under sweeping reforms outlined in the Housing 2020 strategy.

Housing and Public Works Minister Tim Mander said an extra 12,000 dwellings would be built in Queensland, while 90% of the government's housing stock would be managed through community providers by 2020.

Five major urban renewal projects will also be rolled out in Logan, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Townsville, Mt Isa and Gladstone, where there are high-concentrations of government housing.

Mr Mander said the sweeping reforms would focus on making housing assistance transitional rather than permanent.

"While there are those who will always require ongoing social housing, there are others whose barriers to the private market could be overcome with the right support," he said.

"Housing 2020 is about acknowledging and overcoming those barriers and providing real pathways into the private market.

"Unfortunately, under the old system, there was a lack of alternatives which created a 'social housing or bust' mentality."

Mr Mander said the aim was to change the "mentality" that people held about social housing.

Originally published as Extra 12k dwellings to be built in Qld: Mander