Queensland’s councils say immediate measures could tackle a statewide housing crisis.

Council representatives recently joined Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s emergency housing round table.

Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) chief Alison Smith said the peak body had put forward immediate measures, including:

  • Short term repurposing or retrofitting of existing State Government-owned vacant buildings for crisis and temporary accommodation

  • Incentives for short-term holiday accommodation owners to switch to the private rental market

  • Prioritising social housing construction in Queensland’s 17 remote and discrete First Nations communities

  • Activating industry-backed incentives to reduce land banking and so increase the completion rate of lots already approved by councils

“As we all know, the housing crisis has reached a critical level across the state,” Ms Smith said.

“Today’s focus on housing follows a sustained campaign by the LGAQ on behalf of councils calling for coordinated action by all levels of government to begin to conquer the crisis.

“Our members were among the first to raise the alarm, with motions at our Annual Conference last year that led to our six-point Housing Action Plan, which we launched in February.

“The Premier’s round table was a great opportunity to work constructively with the Premier, her ministers, industry and housing groups to find ways to help get more homes for people across our communities who so desperately need them.

“We also know that it is only with the deep involvement of councils – and proper funding – that we can conquer the housing crisis and provide available, secure and affordable homes that the community will accept.

“Importantly, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the housing crisis. The autonomy of local government to make decisions - in consultation with their local communities, including our discrete First Nations communities, and supported by national and statewide coordinated and strategic frameworks - is paramount.

“We will be preparing a detailed submission and taking councils’ and communities’ suggestions and solutions to the housing summit in Brisbane on 20 October.

“The round table was a good start, getting stakeholders together at a state level, and we will also continue to push for a national summit.”