Premier moved by plight
Steven Miles promised a Queensland man on the brink of homelessness the state government would pay for a hotel room to keep him off the streets as the Premier conceded a lack of housing supply had left many in despair.
Rodney Tegen pleaded with Mr Miles and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli for answers as he detailed his desperate situation during the leaders’ debate hosted by The Courier-Mail.
He said he starves himself for four days every fortnight and will be forced to return to sleeping in his car due to the soaring cost of rentals.
Mr Tegen said “there are no pathways” or specific government support payments for single men, whose desperate predicament clearly moved Mr Miles.
“Please don’t go back to sleeping in your car,” the Premier said.
“Please reach out to our services before it gets to that because it’s easier for them to take care of you while you’re in a house, and if necessary find you other accommodation, then see you sleeping in your car and then having to rebuild your household back from there.
“So we’ll see if we can connect you with those services and try and make sure it doesn’t come to that.
“And if it stops you sleeping in a car, then we’ll pay for hotel accommodation.”
Mr Miles said the government had increased funding to housing support services while also introducing bond loans and rental grants.
Mr Crisafulli said the immediate options were crucial but stressed a longer term plan was needed to ease the pressure on the market.
“Housing is broken in Queensland and the biggest reason why it’s broken is there just isn’t enough supply,” the Opposition Leader said.
“So therefore, at the bottom end of the market, you’ve got a feeding frenzy where people are trying everything to get into a property.
“We have to increase supply, we need social housing for the most vulnerable, (and) we need community housing to make sure that’s part of the mix.
“If we do that we can put long term pressure on that system.”
A Gold Coast candidate has contacted police about violent threats after enjoying an afternoon off from his campaign at an AFL game.
Dan Doran in Division 11 made the complaint to ease tension and put out a call for calm after receiving the shocking social media messages on the weekend.
Mr Doran is in one of the closest battles ahead of Saturday’s poll with Nic Rone in Division 11, vacated by popular councillor Hermann Vorster, who will run for state politics for the LNP in Burleigh.
Enjoying a rare moment to relax on the weekend, Mr Doran posted a picture of himself at the Suns home game on Saturday afternoon with his mate Mark Witheriff.
He describes the two direct messages from two people on
Sunday night through social media as a “call back to the American History X scene of standing on your head”.
A critic had posted “Teeth in the curb (sic) Dan Doran”. A complaint was made to police. “There’s a cautionary tale here that social media is not just something that kids have to put up with,” Mr Doran said.
“We all need to just tone it down a bit. I need to put it out there because I don’t want to get any more (abuse).”
Mr Doran had earlier posted: “Had a great time watching the Gold Coast Suns yesterday. Don’t worry I only left Division 11 for a couple of hours. Please don’t abuse me this time.”
Mr Doran said the latest social media attack followed an earlier post a week ago when he was promoting the Coolangatta Melanoma March for the Melanoma Institute of Australia.
A critic asked him about his priorities saying “isn’t running for council more important to you right now”.
Mr Doran later explained that his father John died from melanoma when he was 13 years old.
“What a disgusting way to start the day,” he wrote, in his response on social media.
After a week of more abusive posts, Mr Doran decided to go public.
“The Varsity Lakes Community Page has shut down all political talk because it has been getting a bit antsy,” he told the Bulletin.
“It’s five days to go. Everyone is going to get stressed. Everyone is going to get tired. Everyone – just cool your jets and calm down.
“You can tell people are getting a bit worked up. I just want people to calm down.”
Forty-six candidates are running in this election, down from a record 68 in 2012. Mayor Tom Tate is seeking a record fourth term.
Mr Tate faces eight other candidates.
Election day is on Saturday, but it is estimated that up to two-thirds of voters could have voted before then at prepoll or by postal voting.