Sector Seethes Over Minister’s Social Housing Backflip

“Off the record, it’s f***ing disappointing and Bleijie needs his arse kicked.” Not mincing words, the scolding comment by a development industry heavy hitter clearly indicates things are heating up on the frontline of the Queensland’s housing crisis. It follows a ministerial edict in March that has rattled the state’s social and affordable housing sector. Jarrod Bleijie, the deputy premier of the state with the worst housing stress in Australia, wielded his powers as development, infrastructure and planning minister to repeal a Ministerial Infrastructure Designation (MID) fast-tracking approval for an eight-storey, 90-unit affordable housing project on the Sunshine Coast. The decision has led to much head shaking among community housing providers (CHPs) and other industry players, many of whom are now walking on eggshells wondering what the future holds under Queensland’s new Liberal National Party government. “The way it was done was particularly disappointing,” a source says. “Normally, they’ll give a heads up beforehand …but that didn’t happen in this instance. “There was clearly a political message being sent out.” Bleijie has cited a raft of reasons for the decision. They have included—among other things—that the project earmarked for a waterfront site at Birtinya, 94km north of Brisbane by road, exceeded the prescribed maximum yield by 30 units, as well as concerns over parking and traffic congestion. He also claims the Birtinya MID was “sneakily” signed off by the former Labor government in the lead-up to October’s state election. However, it by no means has gone unnoticed that the slated development was within Bleijie’s own electorate of Kawana—where it has faced fierce not-in-my-backyard opposition—prompting accusations of ministerial NIMBYism. The new LNP state government has widely spruiked its commitment to “resetting the planning partnership with local governments—empowering them to deliver for their communities”. “This is an example where the state, I suppose, is choosing to demonstrate that,” the source says. “And if there has been some angst at a local level then perhaps that has influenced the minister’s decision making around that.” ▲ Queensland deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie and a rendering of the 90-unit affordable housing proposal at Birtinya. Meanwhile, affordable housing developer Brisbane Housing Company has declared it will push ahead with the Birtinya proposal. It plans to seek approval through the Sunshine Coast Council's local planning pathway—setting the project back by up to another 12 months. Chief executive Rebecca Oelkers would not be drawn on commenting about the Birtinya MID repeal decision or the reasons given for it. But she did point out previous approved plans for the site included a tavern, function room, retail and 60 dual-key units (120 bedrooms) while BHC’s scheme was for 90 affordable, predominantly one-bedroom units, designed for essential workers priced out of the local rental market. “The need for affordable housing in our cities and regions has never been more urgent,” she says. Within a week of the Birtinya recision, the sector was dealt another blow when the Deputy Premier revoked the State Facilitated Development (SFP) declaration for a proposed four-storey, 40-unit housing project with an affordable component at Tewantin on the Noosa River. “Its certainly been concerning for a lot of people and there has been a lot of disappointment,” planning consultancy Therefor Group executive director and YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) Qld co-founder Natalie Rayment says. “And I think what it has done is just rock people’s confidence in using these state planning pathways, which we still need …[particularly] when we’re not delivering enough social and affordable, or any housing under current planning schemes.” Rubbing salt into the wound, between the two announcements, the emboldened new LNP government basked in the glory of unveiling its multi-billion-dollar 2032 Brisbane Olympics infrastructure blueprint. ▲ BHC chief executive Rebecca Oelkers. Rayment says, unquestionably, housing has been denied. Tempering her commentary, however, she notes the new LNP government is “balancing lots of priorities that are urgent” and not all the news has been bad for Queensland’s housing sector. “There’s been quite a lot happening to try to create opportunities … so I'll reserve my judgment for now,” she says. Earlier this month, in a swift move to seemingly redeem itself, the state government approved 44 homes to be delivered on church-owned land at Wakerley in Brisbane’s east. “That was a bold move,” Rayment says. “Because there had been a lot of NIMBY commentary coming from the local community.” It is also the first development on faith-based land given the nod since amendments to Queensland’s planning framework and the introduction of the so-called MID Lite process to unlock church and charity-owned land for affordable housing. Under the build-to-rent proposal submitted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, at least 85 per cent of the two and three-bedroom units would be for affordable rentals and managed by a registered community housing provider. Recently, the state also designated 890ha of semi-rural land at bayside Thornlands, south of Brisbane , a Priority Development Area for up to 8000 new homes accommodating 20,000 residents. The first tranche of 900 homes—including 20 per cent social and affordable housing—is to be fast-tracked with usual planning processes bypassed to expedite development. Newly-appointed Community Housing Association chief executive Julie Saunders says the industry peak body has been “in there heavily talking with government”. “We’re very interested in what the landscape looks like moving forward and to get certainty and stability,” she says. “And we do think this state government wants to work with the CHP sector more. ▲ Therefor Group executive director and YIMBY Qld co-founder Natalie Rayment. “It’s a pretty constructive relationship at the moment and there’s lots of promise in it. “Queensland hasn’t fared very well with the federal funding landscape because the CHP sector hasn’t been harnessed the right way in the past 10 years. “So we do need to position the sector to be more sustainable … and this [state] government is doing that now.” Saunders says the recent launch of the trial of a new Master Agreement with community housing providers is a gamechanger. “That’s a really big lever that’s just been pulled and that’s been sitting around for eight years,” she says. “For the first time, providers will have a consistent, modern framework that gives them the support and certainty they need to get on with the job. “This important trial phase shows the government is listening to our sector, working with us to get this right. The Master Agreement will open our industry—cutting red tape, speeding up delivery.” But housing and homelessness peak body QShelter’s Jackson Hills says despite positive steps being made to grow the sector there are still concerns. “There’s a little bit of recalibration and some green shoots happening…but we need to be pretty firm in calling out some of this.” He says there has been other projects under state planning pathways “flagged as possible revisions”. “So, to be honest, we’re actually quite concerned that it’s not isolated. “And if we’re going to lose every one of these projects at the first sign of community opposition, we’re really worried about what the future looks like. “To see [the Birtinya project] not get up when it’s one of our most reputable community housing providers…it did knock the wind out of the sector. “That project was about key workers and the local economy. It’s a real missed opportunity…and we’d be disappointed to see that happen again. “The biggest concern was that it took eight months to find out it was a ‘no’. And, also, it started off as a ‘yes’... and, you know, eight months lost is eight months we can't afford. ▲ Community Housing Association chief executive Julie Saunders. “We know that each social and affordable housing development across Queensland contributes towards the overall housing targets set by the state government, which is seeking to build one million new homes, including 53,500 social homes, by 2044. “But we cannot reach these targets if these vital projects are delayed or opposed.” Hills says the two main state planning pathways—SFD and MIDs—were established after extensive consultation and input from the sector with the aim of address the state's critical shortage of affordable housing. “For proponents who have invested considerable time, money, and resources in these planning processes, facing further delays, especially without any guarantee that the project will move forward, only hampers the much-needed housing supply in a market that is already under strain.” He says another key challenge is the constant wrestling between the community housing sector and local residents opposing its projects. “We need the community to understand that we’ve got exceptional growth coming to Queensland. I still don't think the community completely understands how much growth Queensland will see by 2046—you know, we are talking close to a million more people in southeast Queensland. “That's a lot of new housing that's going to be required and greenfield housing development on the urban fringe alone can't accommodate all that. We need to look at consolidation in our urban areas.” Saunders agrees. “I’m still gobsmacked in this day and age we still have issues of community acceptance,” she says. “It’s unbelievable considering the level of unaffordability our population is experiencing. “Housing stability is the pillar of wellbeing, health and participation and if you don’t deal with that then you exacerbate all those issues. “That’s exactly why it’s crucial for a society to invest in it and I think we’re getting there—slowly but surely.”

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