Moreton Bay Mayor calls for urgent crisis accommodation
Published 22 July 2025
- Mayor Peter Flannery has called on the State Government to urgently build more crisis accommodation.
- City of Moreton Bay has just 84 temporary accommodation beds, leading to people sleeping in makeshift camps.
- Crisis accommodation is the interim measure to help get rough sleepers into social and affordable housing sooner.
City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery is calling on the State Government to immediately fund and build more crisis accommodation in City of Moreton Bay.
The Mayor pushed for the urgent measure at the inaugural SEQ local government sub-committee meeting of the Homelessness Ministerial Advisory Council.
"Everyone deserves safe, secure accommodation. Sleeping rough in a park, is not the answer,” said Mayor Flannery.
"We need the State Government to build more crisis accommodation in Moreton Bay, and we need it now. Homelessness is a visible and complex challenge for our community and across Australia. Our community cares about this issue, and so do we.
“Council is committed to community safety, and we are working with frontline services, housing providers, and all levels of government to deliver immediate and practical support.”
The sub-committee includes Minister for Housing and Public Works, Sam O’Connor, 11 other SEQ Councils, Council of Mayors (CoMSEQ) and Q-Shelter, and is aimed at solving the region’s homelessness challenges.
There are only 84 crisis accommodation beds available in City of Moreton Bay - state-funded emergency accommodation which ensures those without a home have somewhere to sleep and are connected with social housing and outreach services.
“If we had more crisis accommodation, we wouldn’t have people sleeping in parks and tents.”
“This is the number one problem, that is making this situation so difficult for everyone.”
The Subcommittee discussed initiatives including:
- increasing the availability of crisis accommodation
- opportunities to remove red-tape that impacts local crisis responses such as the Residential Tenancies Act to use state land
- better local coordination between state government departments, service providers and local governments
Earlier this year, Mayor Flannery, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and QShelter called for an urgent meeting of all SEQ Councils and sector partners to address homelessness in SEQ.
The meeting heralded a new regional collaboration that strengthens our collective resolve to tackle homelessness.
It’s proposed the subcommittee meet bi-monthly, and support the Homelessness Ministerial Advisory Council (HMAC) to adopt measures that will help those in need of housing and wrap-around services.