QCOSS welcomes the announcement of a Housing Summit this morning and is calling on the State Government to ensure every Queenslander has a home by 2032.

QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh thanked Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for listening to calls from community services and other stakeholders statewide.

“This announcement shows that the Queensland Premier is listening to the calls from community organisations, the industry, and local government, about just how dire the housing crisis is, and that what is happening now isn’t working,” McVeigh said.

“It is an exciting step forward in the right direction, and we look forward to working with the Premier, Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Treasurer Cameron Dick, and Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch on this.

“We all agree that we need more homes built, and this can be achieved in numerous ways.

“We need to ensure that there’s a plan fit for purpose, that meets the demand for social and affordable housing.

“We need 5,000 social dwellings to be built across the state each year for the next ten years.

“The Queensland Government needs to expand the Housing Investment Fund, ensure greater capital investment in regional Queensland, and repurpose, rebuild and reuse existing stock.

“We agree with the Premier that nothing is more important than having a roof over your head. This should be a goal for the summit.

“By the 2032 Olympics every Queenslander should have a place they can call home.

“Right now, working Queenslanders and families are living in tents, women and children are returning to domestic violence relationships, and elderly people are sleeping on couches, because there is nowhere for else them to go.

“We look forward to working with the Premier, the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Property Council of Australia, Q Shelter, Master Builders Queensland, and the Brisbane City Council, on this.”