City of Moreton Bay Acknowledged for Addressing Homelessness

Published 27 November 2024

City of Moreton Bay has been recognised by housing and homelessness peak body Q Shelter, for leadership in addressing housing and homelessness challenges at the local government level and in conjunction with the sector.

Mayor Peter Flannery said it was a great honour to be awarded the Kent Maddock Memorial Award for 2024 by Q Shelter.

“We are proud to be recognised by Q Shelter for this work and we sincerely thank them for this award and the work they do,” Mayor Flannery said.

“This award will focus our energy on continuing to alleviate the housing crisis and homelessness for our residents.  

“We know people are doing it tough across City of Moreton Bay, with a 90% increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city over the last decade.

“As the level of government closest to the people, we see first-hand the impact homelessness is having in our city.

“Although housing and homelessness are ultimately the responsibility of other levels of government, we can’t turn a blind eye and have stepped in to help people needing critical support.

“City of Moreton Bay has explored every reasonable option to help combat the impact of the national housing crisis locally.

“Acknowledging our position as the third largest local government in Australia, we have been active in helping to achieve better housing outcomes for our residents.

City of Moreton Bay’s Housing and Homelessness Action Plan drives our commitment in this area with initiatives including:

• waiving development fees and infrastructure charges in fifteen suburbs for affordable and social housing
• offering Council land, under a peppercorn lease, to community housing providers Bric Housing and Coast2Bay Housing Group Ltd to develop and manage social housing
• committing $3.7 million to the new Peninsula Support Hub that is currently being built
• supported the Redcliffe sleepbus.

Mayor Flannery acknowledged the volunteers, Council officers and the many community groups across the sector who work incredibly hard in this area to help make a difference across the City of Moreton Bay.

Q Shelter CEO Fiona Caniglia, said that Moreton Bay was one of the fastest growing LGAs in the state and the need for affordable housing is growing exponentially.

“The council has been looking at all possible levers locally to unlock social and affordable housing supply, with some key projects already underway.

“Q Shelter has partnered with the council and the local housing and homelessness network to explore collaborative ways to address the emerging homelessness issue in the City.”

This year Q Shelter awarded two winners, with the Greater Whitsunday Communities also receiving recognition for their work on a Housing Playbook and a Housing Summit Action Plan.

Ms Caniglia noted: “We’ve seen these two areas lead the way in collaborative action on housing solutions over the past year or more, and we felt it was important to recognise that commitment through this award.”   

Q Shelter is a peak body working to influence solutions to housing needs and homelessness.

The Kent Maddock Memorial Award was launched at Q Shelter’s AGM in November 2022 and acknowledges place-based alliances taking action to end homelessness and housing needs.

Kent Maddock made an outstanding contribution to the lives of countless Queenslanders, both in his professional consultancy career and as Deputy Director-General of the Department of Justice and Attorney General. He also made an incredible impact through his volunteer appointments, including Co-chair of Under 1 Roof, President of the New Farm Neighbourhood Centre, Board Director of Epilepsy Queensland, Chair of La Boite Theatre, and the Attorney-General’s representative at the Queensland Legal Aid Commission.