Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher slams federal budget for lack of remote Qld housing funds
An Indigenous shire mayor says the federal budget’s remote housing spend has little for Queensland despite two-bedroom homes housing 12 people in some cases.
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An Indigenous shire mayor says the federal budget’s remote housing spend has little for Queensland despite two-bedroom homes housing 12 people in some cases, while the Northern Territory will get billions in funding.
More than $2bn in commonwealth money will be spent in the Territory over the next ten years as part of an agreement with the NT government to halve the rates of overcrowding across the border.
Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher said despite his community and others in Cape York facing the same challenges, the rest of remote Australia missed out on a stake in the multi-billion dollar deals.
“It’s a real kick in the guts for us in Queensland,” he said.
“Overcrowding is our biggest challenge, overcrowding is what causes health and education problems.
“The Closing The Gap policy – we’re never ever going to get on top of that simply because we haven’t got the funds to build new houses in our communities.”
A $4bn joint investment between the Australian and Territory governments will build up to 270 houses annually over the next decade, with $120m also allocated to housing repairs.
As for the rest of the country’s remote communities, just $200m has been allocated for repairs and upgrades to existing housing.
Mr Butcher said the last significant housing investment Lockhart River received was in 2018 and allowed the community to built a 25-lot subdivision, which is today vacant land ready for housing construction.
He said the Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire council has long lobbied for “continuity” in housing investments, with more than 50 people currently sitting on the housing waitlist.
“A great example at the moment is there’s a two-bedroom house in Lockhart River has 12 people living under the one roof, three generations,” he said.
“Every week you’re basically renovating that house because it wasn’t designed for that.”
Further funding for Lockhart River should allow the community to build their own homes, Mr Butcher said, pointing to a 29-lot subdivision built in the community about a decade ago.
The second-term mayor said he was not interested in the Queensland government’s move towards rapidly-built modular homes, which are built in the southeast or Cairns before being sent out to the bush.
“It’s not about us getting a new house, it’s about who built that house. That’s the important part,” he said.
“Modular homes doesn’t give the community any employment opportunities or any business or economic opportunities.
“We’ve built a workforce on the capacity of our own people over the last 10 years … we’re in a position where we’re capable of building and maintaining our own houses.
“Modular houses are not built for the bush. You’re better off building something durable, suitable for the environment.”
While Mr Butcher has made Lockhart River’s opposition on modular housing clear to Brisbane, some other Far North Queensland councils including the Torres Strait Regional Island Council – which is piloting the program – have shown interest.
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the Queensland government was also open to building traditional homes in communities in partnership with Indigenous-owned businesses and apprentices.
She too called out the commonwealth for a lack of remote housing funding but said it started with the previous LNP government, last in power in 2022, abandoning the issue.
“The National Agreement on Closing the Gap sets targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing, yet there is no funding at a federal level to support achieving this federal target,” she said.
“If we’re ever to close the gap in Queensland, we need all levels of government to play their part.”
Queensland Senator Nita Green said there was $200m for repairs on existing remote housing in the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund, announced in September last year.
“We’ll work with the state government to make sure that money flows all the way up to Far North Queensland,” she said.
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Originally published as Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher slams federal budget for lack of remote Qld housing funds
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