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<\/p>\nThe Queensland government will sell vacant state-owned land to the private sector but won’t mandate that developments include social and affordable homes.<\/p>\n
The land activation program will allow the private sector to identify under-utilised government-owned land and partner with the state to deliver housing.<\/p>\n
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie launched the policy from a vacant six-hectare site in Brisbane’s north, which will be released to the market for development.<\/p>\n
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Vacant land at Banyo, in Brisbane’s north, will be released to the market for development. (ABC News: Jack McKay)<\/p>\n
“This is going to be great for the local community. We’re going to have 400 new homes right here in the beautiful suburb of Banyo that has been an eyesore, under-utilised, fenced off.<\/p>\n
“This is the epitome of Labor’s housing policy. Fenced off vacant land that the taxpayer had to mow every fortnight.<\/p>\n
“The best thing we can do for the housing crisis in Queensland is supply, supply, supply.”<\/p>\n
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The government has pledged to build 400 new homes in Banyo. (ABC News: Jack McKay)<\/p>\n
The government will implement a “use it or house it” policy, forcing public departments that don’t need or are under-utilising state land to release it for private development.<\/p>\n
Private developers will have conditions imposed on them to ensure they get housing to market as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
Shadow housing minister Meaghan Scanlon said the new plan prioritised developers over Queenslanders in need.<\/p>\n
“What is the point of having a public developer and public land if you are not going to deliver a public good?” she said.<\/p>\n
“The LNP flogging off state assets without delivering a social and affordable homes is reckless.<\/p>\n
“It makes no sense to flog off state land and put no sensible conditions on social and affordable housing.”<\/p>\n
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Meaghan Scanlon says the government’s policy is “reckless”. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)<\/p>\n
The LNP introduced proposed changes to electoral laws to parliament last year<\/a>, which would allow property developers to make donations at the state government level.<\/p>\n Queensland’s corruption watchdog warned lifting the ban could increase corruption risks in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n No mandates ‘very troubling’<\/p>\n The LNP has pledged to build one million new homes, including 53,000 social and affordable homes, by 2044.<\/p>\n Mr Bleijie was asked why the new policy didn’t include any mandates for social housing.<\/p>\n “The former government mandated affordable and social housing, and this is the result: kangaroo land, plovers swooping people, that’s what mandates give,” Mr Bleijie said.<\/p>\n “You need to partner with the market to deliver the supply, and the more you mandate, the less houses you get built.”<\/p>\n Brisbane’s median home value rose 1.6 per cent to $1,054,555 in January, according to Cotality.<\/p>\n A KPMG report last week forecast house values to increase almost 20 per cent in the Queensland capital over the next two years.<\/p>\n Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS) chief executive Aimee McVeigh said with the social housing register at record highs, it was “extremely distressing”.<\/p>\n “Seeing the government identify land that can be put to that purpose is obviously extremely positive,” she said.<\/p>\n Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh said it was positive that the government was putting land to use. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)<\/p>\n “The downside, though, is we know that we won’t have enough social and affordable housing unless government does everything it can to increase supply.<\/p>\n “It is very troubling to see initiatives, which should be used to increase social and affordable housing, really giving the benefit over to developers to produce more housing that won’t benefit the people who need it the most.”<\/p>\n Last year, as part of the 2032 Games infrastructure plan, the government scrapped some mandates for affordable housing<\/a> in the Woolloongabba priority development area.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Aimee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/557c4b78ce58086f2695d7568c3ceabb.jpeg\")
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