Published Wednesday, 09 May, 2007 at 05:36 PM
Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology
The Honourable Robert Schwarten
NOTHING IN FEDERAL BUDGET FOR HOUSING: SCHWARTEN
Peter Costello’s twelfth budget continued to ignore one of the biggest issues facing Australians, housing affordability, Queensland Housing Minister Robert Schwarten said today.
“Last night’s budget repeated history by not mentioning housing despite alarming statistics which show that housing affordability both in private rental and ownership is the worst since World War II,” Mr Schwarten said.
“This is a problem which the Federal Government has created and is choosing to ignore.
“The Howard Government effectively defunded public housing 11 years ago. Prior to that the Federal Labor Government outspent the states on housing two-to-one in some cases, but now Queensland Government spending is more than the Federal Government’s.
Mr Schwarten said the Federal Government promoted and funded private rental through taxpayer subsidies as the alternative to public housing and had spent more than $4.5 billion on subsidising private landlords over the past nine years.
“Imagine how much public housing that would have built,” he said.
“Yet we are now seeing the private market collapsing with average rents increasing over the last five years by $85 while rent assistance increased by $15 over the last five years.
“When I started as Housing Minister the state budget was $330 million now it’s more than $700 million despite the Federal Government taking $400 million from the Commonwealth/State Housing Agreement in real terms.
”So while we have more than doubled it the Federal Government has raked money out of the system.”
Mr Schwarten said the Federal Government’s actions had also pushed people out of the private rental market and on to Public Housing wait lists, which he described as “privatisation of public housing by stealth”.
“As a result, there are now more than 33,000 applications for public housing in Queensland,” he said.
“While last year we increased the number of housing units by more than 900 and we have some 52,400 dwellings, we have 33,000 applicants wanting to be housed.
“It is a fact that many of these people have added their names because they can no longer afford rent in the Federal Government’s private housing sector.
“The Beattie Government remains committed to providing housing for people.”
Media contact: (07) 3237 1184
“Last night’s budget repeated history by not mentioning housing despite alarming statistics which show that housing affordability both in private rental and ownership is the worst since World War II,” Mr Schwarten said.
“This is a problem which the Federal Government has created and is choosing to ignore.
“The Howard Government effectively defunded public housing 11 years ago. Prior to that the Federal Labor Government outspent the states on housing two-to-one in some cases, but now Queensland Government spending is more than the Federal Government’s.
Mr Schwarten said the Federal Government promoted and funded private rental through taxpayer subsidies as the alternative to public housing and had spent more than $4.5 billion on subsidising private landlords over the past nine years.
“Imagine how much public housing that would have built,” he said.
“Yet we are now seeing the private market collapsing with average rents increasing over the last five years by $85 while rent assistance increased by $15 over the last five years.
“When I started as Housing Minister the state budget was $330 million now it’s more than $700 million despite the Federal Government taking $400 million from the Commonwealth/State Housing Agreement in real terms.
”So while we have more than doubled it the Federal Government has raked money out of the system.”
Mr Schwarten said the Federal Government’s actions had also pushed people out of the private rental market and on to Public Housing wait lists, which he described as “privatisation of public housing by stealth”.
“As a result, there are now more than 33,000 applications for public housing in Queensland,” he said.
“While last year we increased the number of housing units by more than 900 and we have some 52,400 dwellings, we have 33,000 applicants wanting to be housed.
“It is a fact that many of these people have added their names because they can no longer afford rent in the Federal Government’s private housing sector.
“The Beattie Government remains committed to providing housing for people.”
Media contact: (07) 3237 1184