SOCIAL HOUSING IN AIRLIE BEACH GETS $2M BOOST
Published Monday, 18 June, 2007 at 09:11 AM
Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology
The Honourable Robert Schwarten
The State Government will fund the construction of a 20-unit apartment complex in Airlie Beach to boost the supply of affordable housing in the Whitsunday region.
In Airlie Beach for the Beattie Government’s 103rd Community Cabinet, Housing Minister Robert Schwarten said $2 million would be spent building the units in Jubilee Pocket.
“The Beattie Government’s record $719 million housing assistance package announced in the recent is starting to flow and in this case it will deliver more affordable housing for residents of the Whitsundays,” Mr Schwarten said.
“The project will be delivered through a partnership between the Department of Housing, the Whitsunday Shire Council and the Whitsunday Affordable Housing Association.
“The land has already been provided to the association by the council, which will also reduce fees on the development and provide some rates relief.
“It will take the number of units of accommodation funded by the Department of Housing in the Whitsundays to close to 380.”
The units will be two storey with a mix of one and two bedroom units and rented to eligible tenants at around 75% of market rent.
Mr Schwarten said the project was great news for people in the Whitsunday region who have been forced out of the private rental market because of skyrocketing rents.
“Data supplied by the Residential Tenancies Authority shows the median rent in the Whitsunday region has jumped by an alarming 93% in the past five year, from $155 to $300 per week,” he said.
“This has forced more and more people out of the private rental market and they are ending up on the doorstep of the Department of Housing.
“The State Government has doubled the budget for housing since it first came to office and in 2007-08 will spend a massive $479 million building and purchasing more dwellings.
“It is shameful the Federal Government has raked money out of public housing while at the same time pumping billions of dollars into the private rental market through Rent Assistance.
“Local Federal member De-Anne Kelly has been more than willing to hold community forums about housing affordability but when it comes to lobbying her colleagues in Canberra to get more money for public housing she has gone silent.”
Media contact: (07) 3237 1832
In Airlie Beach for the Beattie Government’s 103rd Community Cabinet, Housing Minister Robert Schwarten said $2 million would be spent building the units in Jubilee Pocket.
“The Beattie Government’s record $719 million housing assistance package announced in the recent is starting to flow and in this case it will deliver more affordable housing for residents of the Whitsundays,” Mr Schwarten said.
“The project will be delivered through a partnership between the Department of Housing, the Whitsunday Shire Council and the Whitsunday Affordable Housing Association.
“The land has already been provided to the association by the council, which will also reduce fees on the development and provide some rates relief.
“It will take the number of units of accommodation funded by the Department of Housing in the Whitsundays to close to 380.”
The units will be two storey with a mix of one and two bedroom units and rented to eligible tenants at around 75% of market rent.
Mr Schwarten said the project was great news for people in the Whitsunday region who have been forced out of the private rental market because of skyrocketing rents.
“Data supplied by the Residential Tenancies Authority shows the median rent in the Whitsunday region has jumped by an alarming 93% in the past five year, from $155 to $300 per week,” he said.
“This has forced more and more people out of the private rental market and they are ending up on the doorstep of the Department of Housing.
“The State Government has doubled the budget for housing since it first came to office and in 2007-08 will spend a massive $479 million building and purchasing more dwellings.
“It is shameful the Federal Government has raked money out of public housing while at the same time pumping billions of dollars into the private rental market through Rent Assistance.
“Local Federal member De-Anne Kelly has been more than willing to hold community forums about housing affordability but when it comes to lobbying her colleagues in Canberra to get more money for public housing she has gone silent.”
Media contact: (07) 3237 1832