Prime Minister Unveils $50 Million for Housing in North Queensland

A couple walk through the palm trees on the beach on November 13, 2012 in Palm Cove, Australia. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a $50 million (US$31.2 million) funding package to improve housing and community infrastructure in Queensland.

It comes as the prime minister begins his unofficial election campaign in the “Sunshine State” with the hopes Labor can secure the North Queensland seat of Leichhardt.

According to the government, nearly half of the $50 million has been allocated through the Housing Support Program to support five projects in the region.

Specifically, the regional communities of Pormpuraaw, Napranum, Seisia, and Bamaga will receive between $1.6 million and $9.9 million to develop and expand the number of housing lots in their areas.

In addition, the town of New Mapoon will receive $1.8 million to improve access and build the necessary infrastructure for more development.

The remaining $25 million will be set aside to support seven infrastructure projects in Cairns and nearby regional communities, with the price tag of each project ranging between $1.85 million and $7.5 million.

The government said these projects had gone through a “competitive, merit-based assessment process” before receiving the funding.

“We know this is a major issue in regional Australia and in communities, including some of the more remote areas. Overcrowding in housing can create that social issues as well,” Albanese said.

“We want to see more social housing and more quality community-led infrastructure where people need it most.”

Queensland Infrastructure Minister Catherine King welcomed the boost, saying it would make the region a better place for people to live.

“From Pormpuraaw to Cairns, we’re boosting homes and connecting communities by building the infrastructure they deserve,” she said.

“This builds on our significant investment in Cairns through projects such as the Cairns Water Security, CQ University and Cairns Marine Project, and of course, the $7.2 billion we announced yesterday to fix the Bruce Highway.”

Not Reckless Cash Splashes: PM

As additional funding for Queensland was announced, Albanese said his government did not do “cash splashes” that contributed to inflation.

“What we’ve done is do targeted measures like those reductions, the Energy Bill Relief, like Cheaper Child Care, like Cheaper Medicines where Australians have saved over a billion dollars,” he told Sunrise TV.

“We’ve been carefully designing the measures that we’ve put in place so that we continue to work on lowering that inflation figure. We have got it down from having a six in front to a two in front.”

Australia Going Backwards: Opposition

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has criticised the Labor government for making life more difficult for Australians.

“Families are hurting with everything costing more,” he said on X.

“We’ve had a record number of small businesses going burst.

“Australia has taken a turn for the worse.”