Miles moves to cut emergency housing red tape
Temporary accommodation for Queensland natural disaster victims will be fast-tracked in a bid to ease the state’s housing crisis.
Steven Mile is aiming for Queensland to make 240,000 new home starts this year - but is likely to come up 90,000 short. (AAP Image/Darren England)
Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Steven Miles says temporary housing after disasters such as floods won’t need planning approval from Friday.
The moves comes after the state government’s housing summit on Thursday, with a suite of other proposals to ease the housing crisis to be presented to parliament next month.
“Nothing is more important than having a roof over your head – it’s a basic need – and the stories of people without secure housing are heartbreaking,” he told AAP in a statement.
“We have removed the need for planning approval for emergency housing in communities that have been affected by a natural disaster.”
He said the amendments come into effect on Friday, amid spring floods ahead of what forecasters predict will be another wet summer with more deluges and cyclones in the state.
The change will also allow state and local government to plot the location of demountable housing ahead of a disaster.
“The amendments will mean there will be more locations where emergency accommodation can be installed quickly, allowing local and state governments to support affected communities with temporary housing until permanent housing options are secured,” Miles added.
“Importantly the amendments will also encourage councils to proactively identify suitable land within their local government area for emergency housing – so they can support their communities.
More than 200 representatives from governments, social services, charities, property and construction groups took part in Thursday’s summit to address what’s been called an affordability crisis.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk promised to build 5600 new social and affordable homes by 2027, on top of the 6365 promised by 2025.
She said the government will double its Housing Investment Fund to $2 billion, which will create annual returns of $130 million to be invested in new dwellings.
A statewide stocktake of housing is also underway to determine which measures canvassed at the summit can be proposed next month.
“So it’s a big stocktake that’s happening across the state, and like, we also recognise it’s not just in Queensland, these are national issues, these pressures,” Palaszczuk told reporters on Friday.
