Billion-dollar fix: Premier promises state will build 5600 homes in five years
About 5600 new social and affordable homes will be built in Queensland within five years under a plan unveiled at the state housing summit.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told attendees at Thursdayās summit in Brisbane that the stateās Housing Investment Fund will be doubled to $2 billion.
She said annual returns of $130 million will support the construction of 5600 new social and affordable homes by 2027, on top of the 6365 promised by 2025.
āThatās a good portion of money thatās dedicated for building new homes,ā she said.
āThis additional investment also recognises the impact that rising cost of building materials and labour is having on prices right across the construction sector to secure much needed additional supply.ā
The Queensland Council of Social Services welcomed the announcement, but called for a clear plan to help an estimated 46,000 people on the governmentās housing waiting list.
Chief executive Aimee McVeigh said that plan should have measurable targets, which all three levels of government are held accountable for, and a goal of ensuring every Queenslander has a home within a decade.
āWe have tens of thousands of Queenslanders facing or experiencing homelessness amid a housing crisis that is only getting worse,ā McVeigh said in a statement before the summit.
More than 100 representatives from three levels of government ā and from social services, charities, property, construction and industry bodies ā are taking part in Thursdayās summit.
Short-term rentals, interstate migration, planning rules, land use and social housing are set to be examined at the one-day event.
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āI want my government to work closely with local governments to come up with answers,ā Palaszczuk said.
āI want our government to be working with every single stakeholder in this room and every stakeholder in the state, so that no family faces the prospect of living in unsafe and insecure accommodation.
āFriends this is not an issue unique to Queensland, it is an issue that is affecting families across the nation, but, and this is crucial, we can find local solutions and answers that are unique to our state.ā
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