Time to think outside the square

ALMOST 4000 people can expect to wait about two years for social housing in Cairns, with housing advocates saying while state government initiatives are welcome, the problem remains a lack of supply.

There are signs Cairns is moving toward higher density housing with a slew of development applications to council for dual occupancies and for units and apartments, but many of these are upscale proposals and outside the reach of those on a low income.

The government’s housing summit culminated with a $1bn injection into the Housing Investment Fund, but the Queensland Council of Social Service says that will only create 2800 houses statewide in the next five years.

Anyone looking for a moderately priced rental, and first home buyers on a budget, would welcome 2800 houses in the Far North alone.

The average wait time for social housing in Cairns is 26.5 months or about two years – an all-time high.

Why, then, is the state government not investing in existing assets like the Quigley St Night Shelter and the rebuilding of a state-owned property in Manoora, where a home was burned down in September?

Shelter Housing Action Cairns executive officer Sally Watson is closely watching initiatives in other regions and she is advocating for under-utilised spaces like the council-owned Lake St car park to be repurposed for housing.

She is advocating for an $8m “youth foyer” – a housing model that is working in 17 locations nationally.

It is time to listen to those at the coalface, who are dealing with families in distress.

Bronwyn Farr, Journalist