A problem that has existed for many years – a shortage of public housing in Queensland – has been compounded recently by a huge tightening of the private rental market. I’ve had numerous residents approach me about both issues. Together with my colleagues, I have been working to hold the Government to account on these issues. In Budget Estimates last week, the LNP uncovered that only $40 million of the government’s promised $1 billion housing fund will be spent each year to house vulnerable Queenslanders.

It will be nearly 2050 before the $1 billion commitment is delivered.

This is a failure and a farce, especially when the same Budget hearing showed that the social housing waitlist has again ballooned, this time by 12% to 27,430. It’s a failure of those Queenslanders who desperately need a roof over their head. Meanwhile, the 1000-bed Wellcamp quarantine facility near Toowoomba that cost Queenslanders – $238 million and rising – is gathering dust (and we don’t own it either – it’s in private hands, which makes it impossible to utilise in the future without the agreement of the private owner).

On Wellcamp, some may say I’ve recently been very political in this column in my highlighting to the community this huge cost. Regrettably, it must be highlighted. The actions of the QLD Government in wasting money on Wellcamp means there is less to spend now on public housing shortages. (Remember too, that Wellcamp was announced a few days after the Federal Government, with the agreement of the Queensland Government, announced a federal quarantine facility for the same purpose.) The wasted Wellcamp funds cannot be spent on Tamborine Mountain roads, or on new ambulance vehicles, or additional rooms at a hospital, or any other of the myriad things that need funding to fix. Bad decisions of the Government have immediate and arguably life-changing impacts on Queenslanders. As your representative, and especially as a non-Government MP, it’s my job to highlight these things, and to seek better from the powers-that-be inside the Government.

Back to housing: the LNP is urging the State to take action on the housing crisis across Queensland. We haven’t built enough homes in Queensland to keep pace with our surging population. A report by the Commonwealth Productivity Commission revealed that in 2020/21, Queensland spent less on social housing per person than any other state or territory. In five years, the State has added barely 1,000 social housing bedrooms across the state, but the waiting list grew by more than 20,000 people.

There are immediate steps the State could take to address the housing crisis in Queensland – releasing land for freehold, affordable and social housing must be a priority for the State Government. The LNP also believe that government must invest more in partnerships with the Community Housing sector. These organisations are ready- made to help house the vulnerable. If we empower them, and allow them to leverage housing stock, they can help put a roof over the head of vulnerable Queenslanders.

SCENIC RIM ELECTORATE OFFICE
You can contact me by phone, toll-free, on 1800 813 960, or email scenicrim@parliament.qld.gov.au, so I can lobby on your behalf. In an electorate as large as the Scenic Rim, there are lots of issues and I appreciate your feedback that helps me do my job as well as possible.