BROUGH ABANDONS PUBLIC HOUSING

Queensland Housing Minister Robert Schwarten said that Mal Brough is walking away from the poor and the disabled and putting them out to tender.

“After years of under funding public housing right across the nation, and with the private rental market in a state of collapse, the Brough solution is to walk away and ask the private market to solve the woes.

“I can tell Mr Brough that there is no money to be made in housing the sick, poor and infirmed, and the private funds are only interested in funding projects where they can make money.

“What he is saying is there is no more money for poor public housing tenants from the Commonwealth, and they are being cast adrift. He is happy to let their homes run down while he looks to the private market for a solution.

“I am flaggergasted by the arrogance. Every community and housing industry group says there needs to be more public housing, as well as other options. Brough thinks the only option is more private market subsidies,” he said.

Mal Brough also claimed that States had wasted public housing funds and not built any new stock.

“Queensland has actually increased its social housing stock because we have introduced new and innovative types of housing solutions to the market,” said Mr Schwarten.

“We have gone from 52,000 public houses in 1997 to over 64,000 social housing dwellings in 2007.

“Mr Brough is lives in a fantasy world where he thinks helping people into housing is all about 3 bedroom homes in estates. We have caravan parks, boarding houses, leases in the private market, and innovative products like the Brisbane Housing Company.

“The Queensland Department of Housing helps around 230,000 people a year through a variety of products like public housing, bond loans, home assist secure, and subsidised private leases.

“We could help a lot more, but the sad fact is that Queensland has lost around $400 million worth of funding for housing from the Howard Government.

The Queensland Government now outspends the Commonwealth Government on housing in Queensland, and that the Queensland Government had been advocating more public-private partnerships for years.

“The irony is that Queensland over a year ago put an idea to the Commonwealth like Homelink where we proposed a private - public partnerships to build more affordable housing,” said Mr Schwarten.

“But such private public partnerships need to complement to public housing - not be a replacement. He proposes that it replaces public housing, and that is just heartless.”

Every community and industry group interested in housing says it is important for all levels of Government to work together on solutions. Brough is doing the opposite,” he said.

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