Hon. MAJ SCANLON (Gaven—ALP) (Minister for Housing) (10.01 am): Every Queenslander
deserves a safe and secure roof over their head. Across Australia, housing pressures are having an
impact including here in Queensland, with tens of thousands of people migrating here from interstate
following our strong COVID response and economic recovery. That is why the Palaszczuk government’s
budget is focused on housing, health and cost of living—a budget that brings our social and affordable
housing investment to $5 billion. This is the largest investment in Queensland’s history.

Our big social housing build will see a 67 per cent increase to our capital program in the next
financial year alone, with an additional $1.1 billion to help deliver 13,500 new homes. This includes:
$322.2 million to expand the QuickStarts social housing construction program; $452 million of top-up
funding to continue the delivery of the existing social housing construction program in recognition of
constraints in the national supply chain; $249.1 million to retain and upgrade social housing homes; and
$77 million to deliver housing in remote and discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

It will also provide critical housing support in other ways, including over $250 million for housing
and homelessness supports. That includes things like covering rental payments, providing bond loans
and connecting people to services to find and maintain a rental in the private market; $64 million to
purchase and lease emergency accommodation facilities in inner Brisbane to help more Queenslanders
experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and a further $14 million towards on-site support at three
former retirement villages turned into accommodation in the Redlands, Toowoomba and Clayfield
areas. There is also more than $50 million in this year’s budget to roll out the second First Nations
Housing Action Plan.

There is power in having a safe roof over your head. We have all seen it. We know that there is
a lot of work to do over the coming years. I will be working closely with the sector to ensure we deliver
a comprehensive plan to address the needs across the entire housing spectrum. This budget is a great
start—a great Labor budget that looks after the people in our community who need it most.

To see the speech, click here: https://tv.parliament.qld.gov.au/?reference=0Mba20230614_100141