Remote housing fix needed to 'get real' on closing gap
More than 4000 people live in one of Queensland's largest Indigenous communities but with just 500 social housing properties, many are forced to live in overcrowded conditions.
Palm Island Aboriginal Shire mayor Alf Lacey said there were almost 200 people from the community on the social housing waiting list and the island was desperately short of affordable options.
"Even my house is overcrowded. I've got three generations in my house and I'm the mayor of the town," he told AAP.
"Does the mayor of Brisbane or Townsville or Sydney have that amount of people in their home?"
Mr Lacey said while rental affordability, homelessness and the impact of inflation on cost-of-living have been in the spotlight across the country recently, these issues have been confronting remote communities for decades.
"We understand what mainstream Australia is saying because we've always been in that predicament," he said.
"What I've seen in the media, particularly about housing and homelessness in all Australian communities, that's been an issue for us for a very long time and no one pays attention to us."
The federal government announced a $4 billion remote housing agreement for the Northern Territory in March.
The decade-long commitment is jointly funded between federal government and the NT governments, with the Commonwealth providing $2.1 billion.
Mr Lacey is calling for a similar deal to be struck for Queensland communities.
"The housing crisis does not recognise the Territory-Queensland border," he said.
"If the federal government can come to a deal with the Northern Territory there is no reason we can't make it work for Queensland communities."
Mr Lacey said that without reliable, affordable housing options, the federal government's closing the gap targets could not be met.
"When you've got an overcrowded house, it's a recipe for disaster," Mr Lacey said.
"Don't talk to me about closing the gap until we get real in terms of fixing the root causes."
Mr Lacey said he and other First Nations mayors would seek to meet with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Julie Collins, while they were in Canberra for the local government general assembly from July 2 to 4.
