Federal government asked to address crisis following ‘perfect storm’ of factors including rise in interstate migration and flood damage
Peak industry bodies and community organisations are urging the federal government and opposition to convene a national housing summit to deal with the worsening crisis in Queensland.
The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) called for the urgent summit in a letter sent to the federal housing minister, Michael Sukkar, and Labor’s housing spokesperson, Jason Clare, calling for an urgent summit.
The document, sent Tuesday, was also signed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, the Infrastructure Association of Queensland, Queensland Resources Council, Queensland Farmers’ Federation, the Royal Automative Club of Queensland, Growcom, the Waste Recycling Industry Association of Queensland, Q Shelter, the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Urban Development Institute of Australia.
There were more than 50,000 people on the social housing waiting list in Queensland before the recent floods, which damaged at least 68,000 homes and have left more than 1,000 people living in emergency accommodation.
Net interstate migration has also been the highest in the nation for some time, with more than 7,000 people moving to Queensland in the year to March 2021, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.
In the letter, the LGAQ and the 10 other groups said the crisis has been worsened by housing shortages, low interest rates, rising property prices, supply chain issues and significant labour shortages.
“The impact of this perfect housing storm on our state is resulting in a range of social challenges for individuals, families and local communities statewide including increased homelessness, mental health pressures, drug and alcohol abuse and crime rates,” they wrote in the letter.
“In some of our most vulnerable First Nations communities, overcrowding resulting from a shortage of housing has become a human rights issue and has escalated Covid-19 outbreaks during the pandemic.”
The peak bodies said every Queensland and Australian community deserved to be liveable, and the housing crisis will affect workers, industries and economic growth.
The state government announced a $771m Resilient Residential Recovery Package to help retrofit 5,500 homes, raise another 1,000 off the ground and buy back another 500 after last month’s floods.
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has written to the prime minister, Scott Morrison, asking to split the funding, but only after the package was announced.
The peak bodies said a national housing summit would allow all three levels of government and industry to work together to find solutions.
“We urge the federal government to listen to our clarion call and commit to this important step of a national summit,” they wrote.
“We stand willing and able to work with your government on this joint request, on behalf of our members – Queenslanders who deserve the security of affordable and secure housing, and a liveable community.”
In last year’s budget, the Queensland government committed $2.9bn over four years for social housing supply, which is expected to result 6,365 homes being built.
The chief executive of the Queensland Council of Social Services, Aimee McVeigh, called it “a good first step” but said the magnitude of the crisis required a “marathon, which must be run together by all levels of government”.
“The current level of investment will only address 21% of the housing register and this does not account for the likelihood of continued exponential increases,” she said last year.
