Qld housing summit: Premier’s housing solutions promise

The Premier has challenged a room packed with homeless service providers, industry leaders and politicians to create solutions for the state’s crisis as the Queensland housing summit kicks off.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk launched the Queensland housing summit on Thursday morning, challenging a room packed with homeless service providers, industry leaders and politicians to create solutions for the state’s crisis, while vowing to deliver a “concrete plan” that will be released as soon as possible.

Ms Palaszczuk said she hopes to enact immediate solutions offered by the meeting, insisting “families out there are counting on us”.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the Queensland Housing Summit on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“They’re counting on government working together with everybody in this room to think about how we can create a better life for them,” the Premier said in her keynote address.

“Nothing horrifies me more than the stories we’ve all heard recently of people and families unable to put a roof over their heads – living in tents or cars, sleeping rough, relying on friends and families for beds.

“This afternoon we’ll wrap up and hopefully come out with some more immediate solutions as we work together in the best interest of Queenslanders.”

Speaking outside the Housing Summit, the Premier said the government would prioritise working with church groups that have already offered up vacant land for emergency accommodation.

“If you’ve got the land identified and you can quickly get it zoned, we can build houses on it,” she said.

“It hasn’t happened before. Everything is on the table today.”

Ms Palaszczuk said other organisations had also offered up land that the government would try to use as emergency accommodation.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk addresses the Queensland Housing Summit on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The Premier also committed to releasing a “concrete plan” from the summit off the back of ideas raised by stakeholders and advocates.

“As we can make announcements, we will,” she said.

“A lot of good ideas on the table. That’s great to see the level of enthusiasm that’s here in the room.”

Ms Palaszczuk has used the summit to spruik her government’s new commitment to double the Housing Investment Fund to $2bn – delivering $130m a year in returns.

Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the investment – which will deliver an extra 5,600 homes by 2027 – would bring numbers down on the social housing register.

Originally published as Qld housing summit: Premier’s housing solutions promise