QDN welcomes ALP commitment to fund remote housing in Queensland and calls on the Liberal Party to do the same

QDN welcomes the Australian Labor Party (ALP) announcement of a ten year, $1.5 billion investment in housing in the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to address overcrowding, and the lack of safe and healthy housing options in Queensland’s remote communities.   The ALP also pledge to develop a new COAG partnership on remote housing.

QDN CEO Paige Armstrong said “the last national partnership agreement expired on 30 June 2018, and since then we have been very concerned by the lack of a coordinated approach at Commonwealth level to delivering this essential infrastructure. Depending on the election outcome, this funding will provide a level of certainty around the future of housing in remote communities.  These communities have been in limbo for a long time”. QDN calls on the Liberal Party to make the same level of commitment to housing funding in remote communities.

QDN has a strong history of taking leadership on many key issues and policy reforms, which impact upon people with disability.  Housing has consistently been identified as the number one priority amongst QDN’s statewide members.

In QDN’s position paper released in 2017, Going for Gold: Accessible, Affordable Housing Now QDN recommended actions that could be taken then by Government (under recommendation 11) that address the housing needs of rural and remote Queenslanders, including people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.  “Housing is a fundamental need and human right and is key to enabling people with disability to be included in community and family life, and to participate fully as citizens within Australian society,” said Paige Armstrong today.

Through QDN’s work with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Disability Network of Queensland (ATSIDNQ) QDN knows first-hand from members that access to safe and accessible housing is critical if Queensland is going to have a chance at closing the gap in critical areas such as employment, health, and education.

Media Contact: Paige Armstrong, QDN CEO – 0408 720 099