Electors of Traeger draws to the attention of the House the request to engage relevant authorities to make available the vacant Eventide Residential Aged Care Facility’s hostel accommodation area as residential accommodation for elderly low income residents in response to a shortage of suitable housing. There is an increasing lack of suitable rental properties for singles or couples over the age of 65 on low income. The shortage also affects residents of the nearby rural towns of Ravenswood, Pentland and Greenvale who travel to Charters Towers for medical attention or for long periods of time. The Eventide Residential Aged Care Facility’s hostel accommodation area, which is comprised of 12 clusters of at least eight single rooms, has been out of use since 2018 and would provide a cost-effective and readily available solution to filling the accommodation gap.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to proceed this petition with urgency to engage the relevant authorities to repurpose the vacant Eventide Residential Aged Care Facility’s hostel accommodation area as desperately needed residential accommodation for elderly low income earners.