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Qld under pressure to fix housing crisis

Marty Silk and Tracey FerrierAAP
The Queensland government must address its "prolonged underinvestment" in housing, critics say.
Camera IconThe Queensland government must address its "prolonged underinvestment" in housing, critics say. Credit: AAP

The property sector is urging the Queensland government to sink cash into solving the public housing crisis, saying it will give the state's economy a much-needed boost.

Social welfare groups have long been demanding action, saying current expenditure is woefully inadequate and akin to using sandbags against a "tsunami of need".

The most recent figures available are from the middle of last year, when the pandemic was relatively new.

Back then 25,000 households, comprising 47,000 people, were waiting for one of the state's 54,851 social housing dwellings, an increase of 60 per cent on 2017.

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On Tuesday, the private sector added its voice to the chorus calling for change, saying the government must act when it hands down its budget next month.

The Property Council of Australia and Master Builders Queensland say Queensland's COVID-ravaged economy will get a major boost if Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch spends according to need.

"We know that for every $1 million of spending on residential construction, nine full time jobs are created, and an additional $2.9 million of economic activity is generated, making our industry the heartbeat of our economy," says Paul Bidwell from Master Builders Queensland.

Jen Williams is the Queensland Deputy Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia and says there are no down sides to addressing a "prolonged under-investment" in social and affordable housing.

"Rather than going it alone, government must look to partner with the private and community housing sectors to repurpose existing stock and deliver substantial new stock, as this will see every dollar of government investment multiplied," she says.

The waiting list has ballooned despite a 2017 pledge by the government to spend $1.6 billion building 5500 social and affordable homes back.

About 1415 homes have been completed so far, but that's only about 350 homes a year, against a wait list that is growing exponentially.

The Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) has welcomed the property sector's support.

It fears what the next wait list figures will be like when they are released in September, after so many more months of hardship caused by the pandemic.

"There are 47,000 Queenslanders who do not have a safe place to call home tonight. With record numbers of interstate migration and record low vacancy rates, the Queensland government must act," QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh says.

The opposition Liberal National Party, and the minor parties, have also demanded action.

"Queenslanders are at breaking point. In the past year the state government has sold 207 properties, only built 298 homes ... Do the maths, Queenslanders are losing," opposition housing spokesman Tim Mander said in a statement.

Ms Enoch's office has declined to say if there's likely to be more money for social housing in the budget.

It said the government's $1.6 billion program to build more social and affordable homes was the largest such investment since World War II.

But QCOSS says the government isn't providing the full picture, and that if a similar per capita investment were made today, 5400 homes would be being built each year.

Ms Enoch also said the federal government had walked away from the National Rental Affordability Scheme, putting more than 10,000 tenants at risk in Queensland and leaving the state to do the heavy lifting on housing.

"Housing pressures are being felt in communities all across the country, and it is clear that this is a national issue," she said.

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