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Queenslandâs housing crisis will continue for years unless there is significant investment in the state budget to address it, LNP housing spokesman Tim Mander has warned.
Mr Mander said regions across Queensland, such as Mackay, were in the grips of a housing shortage because of a âperfect stormâ of several factors.
âWeâve had tens of thousands of people arrive back from overseas, weâve got interstate migration, weâve got low interest rates and weâve got home buyer incentives,â he said.
âWeâve had relatively little investment in social housing.â
Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm said department of housing figures showed there were currently 886 applications for social housing across Mackay Whitsunday â with 67 per cent of these classified as very high need.
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Subscriber only Two community leaders from across the political aisle have demanded action to fix skyrocketing rents in Mackay Whitsundays as affordable housing dwindles. This week, Labor candidate for Dawson Shane Hamilton and Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm put forward their ideas on what is needed to solve the region s housing crisis. Mr Hamilton spruiked Labor leader Anthony Albanese s promised $130m for crisis housing for women escaping domestic violence and veterans who have hit hard times, delivered from a $10bn social housing fund, if the party wins the next election. The centrepiece of Labor s plan is a $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund .
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A social service sector leader says the federal budget âmissedâ the opportunity to act on the housing crisis gripping many communities like Mackay.
Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh said while the financial blueprintâs investment in services was welcome and would create jobs for women, it lacked a proper response to the crisis.
âWomen escaping domestic violence need the resources to rebuild their lives. This includes an adequate level of income support and access to safe and secure housing,â Ms McVeigh said.
âDomestic violence is the most common reason given for homelessness.â
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The price of rental housing in Mackay has increased a whopping 12.5 per cent over the past 12 months, new figures show.
It comes as a national housing campaign, Everybodyâs Home, has called for an urgent investment in social housing to combat the rental affordability crisis in Queensland.
Everybodyâs Home national spokeswoman Kate Colvin said this crisis was fuelling a rise in youth homelessness.
âYoung people who are forced to leave their homes, or are left without homes through no fault of their own, cannot simply get a job that pays them enough to afford adequate accommodation,â Ms Colvin said.