The premier of Queensland has announced that the budget for tomorrow would include $320 million for the construction of 500 more social and affordable homes by the middle of 2025.
In light of the state’s worsening housing crisis, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stated that the administration was “pulling every lever possible” to provide people with roofs over their heads.
According to Palaszczuk, “We acknowledge that this is a significant issue out there for families.”
We also know that tens of thousands of people are still moving to Queensland, which is adding to the strain on property markets there and everywhere in the state, including in regional Queensland.
The announcement made today comes after an increase in financing of $64 million for inner Brisbane emergency housing and a $10 million commitment to convert the Pinkenba quarantine facility into emergency housing.
Meaghan Scanlon, the housing minister, stated today that while it was challenging to start projects due to workforce shortages and supply chain issues in the construction sector, “the money is there.”
It’s available, and we’ll do everything in our power to get those homes built as soon as we can, she added.
The investment is made as part of the government’s build-to-rent programme, which involves collaboration with the private sector to provide “discount-to-market affordable rental homes”.
The additional 500 homes announced today, according to Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) CEO Anna McVeigh, are “nowhere near enough” to alleviate the housing need in the state.
We require not an additional 500 homes, but at least 2700 additional social homes annually and over 6000 new cheap and social homes annually throughout Queensland.
In addition, if we are to keep up with demand and necessity, we require an additional 5000 social and inexpensive dwellings from the federal government.
“Short-term and long-term solutions are required at a time when so many Queenslanders are having difficulty paying their rent, mortgages, and other household costs.
“We need to stop making insufficient, modest announcements and replace them with a thorough strategy to address Queensland’s housing crisis.”
According to a survey published in March, homelessness increased by 22% in Queensland between 2017 and 2022, nearly tripling the national average of 8%.
In order to clear the backlog and fulfil future demand, it was also discovered that 220,000 social and cheap homes must be constructed over the next 20 years.
According to data from the Productivity Commission issued in January, the Queensland government spends the least amount of money per person nationwide on social housing.
