A spotlight on the housing crisis in large cities has left homeless families in rural towns like Bowen in the dark, according to Member for Burdekin Dale Last.
While the housing crisis currently gripping Queensland has dominated headlines in recent weeks, Mr Last said a response to a recent Question on Notice from the Housing Minister proved the people of Bowen had been left with broken promises in their hour of need.
“We have waited for this response from the Minister in the hope of having a clear indication of what help is actually out there for people seeking crisis accommodation in Bowen. Unfortunately the response from the Minister confirmed our fears that there is no crisis accommodation available in Bowen,” Mr Last said.
“This is the same town in my electorate that I spoke about in Parliament where, sadly, a local family with a newborn baby were living in a tent. You would think their tragic story alone would trigger the Minister to pull whatever strings are needed to fund crisis accommodation in the Bowen area.”
“We are already seeing detrimental impacts of this housing crisis in other areas of our electorate with potential new teachers turning down jobs in Bowen due to a lack of housing.”
Mr Last said despite the Premier promising to offer ‘accommodation to every homeless person in the state’ it was clear to people in Bowen that it was another example of empty words by this Labor government.
“We saw the housing minister fail to answer the question on time and now we have a response which demonstrates Bowen cannot rely on this Labor government to ensure they have a roof over their head.”
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