No kids welcome in Cairns' new public housing
FAMILIES with children would be ruled out as tenants for new public housing near a crocodile-inhabited canal.
The bureaucrat in charge of Queensland’s public housing has conceded contentious sites at Trinity Park and Palm Cove are unsuitable for families with children or people without transport.
"Traditional" public housing tenants who heavily rely on support services are also unlikely to be housed in the beachside suburb developments, Department of Communities director-general Linda Apelt said.
Ms Apelt, who is responsible for giving final approval to the projects, met representatives from the Concerned Citizens for Bluewater group at Mareeba during Monday’s Community Cabinet event. The group has been lobbying against a 19-unit public housing project flagged for Bluewater Harbour at Trinity Park.
Ms Apelt yesterday told The Cairns Post the concerns they raised about the site’s suitability, largely based on a lack of facilities for tenants, "can be very easily accommodated".
"These locations are really not suitable for young families or people who are heavily reliant on the public transport system or other support services (but) it’s a different category of client," Ms Apelt said.
"We would make sure that there’s a good fit between the neighbourhood and the tenant."
The development, and a similar one planned for Palm Cove, would be "more likely" to house "low income key workers" employed in seasonal, tourism-driven industries such as hospitality.
"A lot of people in the restaurant industry, the catering industry – their incomes are up and down," Ms Apelt said.
"Often these workers have great difficulty being able to get affordable housing within the area they work."
Ms Apelt’s comments follow a statement from the Concerned Citizens for Bluewater that said construction activity – which the public housing scheme aims to promote as part of the Federal Government’s stimulus package – had slowed at Bluewater Harbour since the public housing plans were revealed.
Prominent Bluewater builder Wayne Cavallaro said interest in the area had "dropped right off" since the details emerged.
Group spokeswoman Lisa Dunkerton said Ms Apelt had not known before Monday’s meeting that the site was close to an unfenced canal which is home to crocodiles and could be dangerous for children.
- Public housing strife in Cairns
- Bluewater 'NIMBY's disappoint advocates
- Bluewater residents fear public housing
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