Council Adopts Housing Action Plan for Mount Isa

Council has adopted a Housing Action Plan for Mount Isa which aims to respond to a number of housing issues in the city.

The Queensland Housing Strategy 2021-2025 Mount Isa Housing Action Plan was adopted at Council’s Ordinary Meeting on Wednesday, March 22.

The key topics covered by the plan are housing availability; the private rental market; social housing supply; aged housing and care; and State Government employee housing.

The action plan aims to respond to a range of housing issues in Mount Isa by:

• Developing agreed priority actions with local stakeholders to respond to housing need;
• Establishing strong foundations for longer-term housing responses, to assist housing and homelessness outcomes in the city;
• Incorporating existing information and plans that assist with developing responses to housing need and acknowledge the work already completed by the Council, State Government agencies, and private and not-for-profit organisations; and
• Facilitating targeted interaction between all stakeholders through agreed actions to ensure a focus on deliverables and projects that can improve housing responses in the short and longer term.

Mayor Danielle Slade said there were significant issues with the quantity and quality of several types of housing in Mount Isa – for example, the city has double, and in some cases 30 times, the number of social housing dwellings per capita of other cities in Queensland, and the quality of the stock and the limited services available is having a significant negative impact on the city – and the Action Plan will lay the groundwork for these issues to be addressed in the future.

“I have asked the State Government and Glencore to look at long-term plans for the city when it comes to housing,” Cr Slade said.

“We need 20- and 30-year plans going forward and it’s important that all stakeholders work with Local Government to ensure the best outcomes for our city.

“Working collaboratively with the relevant stakeholders is a crucial part of this process, and I’m pleased that Council has adopted this Action Plan.”

With the adoption of the Housing Action Plan, Council will soon establish a Local Housing Action Plan Working Group, which will comprise key representatives from Council, relevant State Government agencies, and community organisations, to oversee and progress actions, review findings, report quarterly on progress, and further develop the Action Plan collaboratively to address the housing issue.

An overall report will then be presented to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk later this year.