The St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland has welcomed the State Government's renewed focus on Queensland’s critical housing crisis under a new $3.1b Homes for Queensland plan.
CEO Kevin Mercer said this funding boost was severely needed as the state charity continued to hear from more families experiencing great housing stress, with a growing number of people experiencing or at high risk of homelessness.
“This is the biggest social and affordable housing investment in our state’s history and we welcome this significant investment to help vulnerable renters and support more Queenslanders experiencing or at risk of homelessness,” he said.
“It is heartening to know our leaders are taking this issue seriously, as we continue to hear the stories of locals struggling to secure affordable housing, many of them facing imminent homelessness after being priced out of the rental market.”
Premier Steven Miles provided the full details of the Homes for Queenslanders plan at a lunch event at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre today.
The plan includes an extra $1.25b for social homes, with a new target of 53,500 social homes built by 2046, a 20 per cent funding boost for homelessness support services and rental support including banning rent bidding and providing bond loans and portable bonds.
During his speech, Mr Miles said the State Government aimed to build 1 million new homes by 2046, with 95 per cent of them in the private housing market.
Mr Mercer said while the Homes for Queenslanders plan was welcomed, Members of St Vincent de Paul Society were concerned about the 27,000+ households currently on the state social housing waiting list.
“The State Government has set an admirable target of new social homes by 2046 – but there are more than 43,000 people on the waiting list that need housing now,” he said.
“99 per cent of those applications are considered ‘very high’ need, including those currently homeless, and the average waiting time is over two years.
“These are the Queenslanders who need immediate solutions – the boost in funding to homelessness support services will be certainly help, but it’s not the same as providing secure long-term housing.
“The numbers are there but the timeframe is too long – timing is critical on this and Queensland would benefit greatly from a more timely, frontloaded response.”
Mr Mercer said despite these concerns, the St Vincent de Paul Society looked forward to the support this plan would provide for vulnerable Queenslanders.
