Decade of Labor planning failures come home to roost
12-months on from Housing Summit, crisis deepens for Queenslanders
New data has revealed Queenslanders are facing the steepest rental increases in Australia, and the highest increase in rental costs in 14 years.
In the past year, the cost to rent a home in Queensland has skyrocketed a staggering 9.5 per cent, putting more pressure on already-stretched families according to figures just released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In Queensland, it is less affordable to rent and more challenging to find a rental than ever before, after a decade of Labor’s failure to plan for our growing population.
Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Minister for Planning Jarrod Bleijie said the rental squeeze was the direct result of a decade of Labor failures.
“Queenslanders are paying the steepest rental increases in the nation, all because Labor has failed to release the land needed for new homes and build the infrastructure for our growing population,” Mr Bleijie said.
“The responsibility for the Queensland Housing Crisis sits squarely at the feet of this Labor Government, and in the past year they have done nothing to ease the rental squeeze.
“These alarming cost increases are further proof Queensland is experiencing a housing crisis unlike any other state, due to the chaos and crisis of Labor.
“Queenslanders are fed-up with this Government’s inaction and demanding detailed plans for where new homes will be built and how the infrastructure needed for them will be delivered.”
Shadow Minister for Housing Tim Mander said Queenslanders wanted their State Government to reduce cost-of-living pressures, not make them worse.
“At a time when more Queenslanders are struggling to get and keep a roof over their head, their priority is for government to ease cost pressures, but this Government has the wrong priorities.
“In the year since the Housing Summit, the Labor Government has failed to deliver any solutions or explain how they will ease the Housing Crisis.
“Families are now making difficult decisions about how to cut groceries and bills, simply to pay their rent and they want answers from their government.
“With the steepest rent rises in the nation, more Queenslanders are finding themselves priced-out of homes and relying on social housing that this Labor Government is failing to deliver.
“Already 40,000 Queenslanders are waiting for social housing and numbers will continue to grow as long as the Labor Government has the wrong priorities.
“Only the LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland’s future, including securing our housing foundations by improving housing affordability with more land supply.
“An LNP Government would also prioritise developing plans to identify what services and infrastructure is needed to accommodate our growing population.
“The LNP has put solutions on the table to ease the Queensland Housing Crisis, including prioritising infrastructure partnerships with local government to unlock more land for housing, unleashing the community housing sector and setting KPIs and delivering social housing projects on-time and on-budget.”
