Makeshift campsites and tent cities are expanding across south-east Queensland as the state’s housing crisis escalates.
A tent city in Rothwell, in the heart of Premier Steven Miles’ electorate of Murrumba, is sprawling.
Some rough sleepers say they have been forced to turn down crisis accommodation offered by homelessness services, claiming it was either unsafe or unsuitable.
One family with six children told 9News they had been homeless since losing their rental in August.
At times, they said, they’ve paid up to $700 a week for a powered campsite and driven two hours to drop their kids off at school.
A spokesperson from the Department of Housing, Local Government, Planning and Public Works said more than 500 people at risk of homelessness in inner-city Brisbane had been assisted into accommodation by the department in the last year.
He urged anyone feeling unsafe in temporary accommodation to contact the department.
“We do have staff that go out to the various temporary accommodation places to make sure that we continue to connect and work with people,” he said.
“Our funded service providers also provide that support to them on the ground in those establishments.
“I would encourage anyone that does feel that way to come forward and have a conversation with us.”
A Queensland Council of Social Service report released in January found Brisbane was ground-zero for the nation’s cost of living crisis, with the highest rent, energy, insurance, and health price increases.
More than 43,000 Queenslanders were on the waitlist for social housing at the end of September, an increase of about 1600 people since the June total of 41,484.
In February, the government promised to provide 53,500 more social homes by 2046.
“We’ve got almost 1000 homes under construction right now,” Housing Minister Meghan Scanlon said in a statement to 9news.com.au.
She said the government was “ramping up construction… to more than 2000 homes on average per year”.
The housing department has confirmed that for the financial year to date, 1770 households have been allocated social housing.
Yesterday, the department also announced expressions of interest were open for a new streamlined approvals process that will fast-track affordable housing developments.
