A HOUSING spokesman for the St Vincent de Paul Society in Queensland has warned that dwindling numbers of caravan parks are aggravating the state’s housing crisis.
The organisation’s state housing manager Wal Ogle said the crisis had led to many radical suggestions including the building of dongas (makeshift shelters) on land offered by Bishop Brian Heenan of Rockhampton.
He also gave one example of the St Vincent de Paul Society having to house families in a 22-room Mackay motel to deal with extreme housing shortages there.
Mr Ogle made the comments in response to a recent NSW St Vincent de Paul Society report “Residents at Risk” finding that the number of caravan parks in the Sydney region alone had halved in the past seven years from 164 establishments to 74 last year.
Given Queensland’s rapid pace of development, Mr Ogle said he was expecting to find that things were even worse in this state.
Mr Ogle said the Queensland bishops were responding “magnificently” to the current crisis with offers of vacant houses and land.
“For example, Bishop Heenan of Rockhampton has recently offered a piece of land for housing.
“The situation, even with homeless women, is so dire in this city that local Vincentians are talking about building dongas (makeshift shelters) on the property.
“These are all worthy gestures but they are really only a drop in the bucket.”
Queensland’s affordable-accommodation situation is becoming critical and the only option is for government to immediately commence building affordable housing stock, Mr Ogle said.
Mr Ogle said work would continue over the coming months on preparing a similar report to the NSW St Vincent de Paul Society’s report “Residents at Risk”.
“We urgently need to compile similar data for Queensland in the ongoing presentation of our case to State and Federal government bodies for funding for affordable accommodation,” he said.
