Hon. MAJ SCANLON (Gaven—ALP) (Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Public Works) (9.42 am): The Miles government is committed to using every lever at our disposal to boost social and affordable housing. As well as expanding our public building arm, we are empowering our government developer to focus on building more homes, not profits. The Newman government gutted the powers of EDQ’s predecessor, the Urban Land Development Authority, restricting affordable housing supply. We want our public developer to act in the public interest, and that is to deliver more homes for Queenslanders. We are listening to Queenslanders and today we are introducing legislation to give our public developer a clear mission: make social and affordable housing a main priority. This bill will help meet our Homes for Queenslanders target of one million new homes by 2046 and contribute to the federal government’s National Housing Accord target. The best way we can make housing more affordable is simple: build more houses. That is exactly what this bill will do.

EDQ is expected to deliver an additional 1,300 dwellings over the next five years, as well as approve a further 15,000 homes in priority development areas which is over double—117 per cent— the number achievable currently. It is something that Queenslanders cannot risk under those opposite because right now Queenslanders know nothing of the opposition’s plan.

The Miles government’s plan is clear. The initiatives in our Homes for Queenslanders plan cover every aspect of the housing system: building more homes faster, supporting Queensland renters, helping first home owners get into the market, boosting our social housing big build and working towards ending homelessness. We will also focus on closing the gap for First Nations people to overcome inequality in the housing system. The initiatives in our plan represent combined industry-wide investment and reflect our commitment to partner with both the private sector and community organisations to deliver real results. The Miles government is listening to Queenslanders and we will not stop until every Queenslander has safe, secure and affordable housing.