But council’s Labor opposition,Greens councillor Jonathan Sri,and the state’s peak social services group suggested the measures didn’t go as far as they could or should to address record-low vacancy rates,the lack of housing supply,and the rising cost of housing.
Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive Aimee McVeigh welcomed the council’s acknowledgement of the issue,but said local governments had “other levers they can pull” that would have a bigger impact on housing affordability.
“In 2020,Brisbane City Council implementeda ban on townhouse and apartment developments in low-density suburbs, including inner-city suburbs like Paddington and Ashgrove,” she said.
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“Lifting such a ban and working with the state government to implement mandates for new developments to include social and affordable housing quotas – known as inclusionary zoning – would make a bigger difference.”
At the time,the state governmentexpressed strong reservations about the outright ban and its long-term effects on housing choices and affordable living.
In pushing ahead with the move,the council framed it as an effort to protect Brisbane’s backyards and a response to residents’ frustrations about large-scale developments.