The King Island Council is investigating a multitude of avenues to solve its “dire” housing situation.
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Mayor Duncan McFie said the island had two problems, but they were both “quite good” problems to have.
There are 67 job vacancies on the island, some of which are a result of the two world-class golf courses opening in 2015.
“They’re across all industries and levels, from house keeping to management,” Cr McFie said.
“We’ve got an abattoir in the pipeline, and the prospect of a mine re-opening. That’s 100 more jobs, straight up.”
Unemployment on the island is almost non-existent.
In fact, Cr McFie said, most of the island’s residents have two or three jobs.
This means, the positions mostly have to be filled by newcomers to the island.
Which, Cr McFie said, is where the second problem arose.
“What I’m hearing is that there is little to no housing available,” he said.
The council has undertaken action to address, firstly, the lack of housing, through engaging an assessor for four weeks.
It is also appealing to the community, asking anyone with spare bedrooms that could be rented out as boarding, unused houses that could be renovated into accommodation, and vacant blocks that could be built on, to come forward.
Cr McFie said the council would even approach island churches, to see if they would be willing to make their accommodation available.
Cr McFie said he was hoping that investment in the island would come not only from interstate, but from within the community.
“The island is booming,” he said.
“Three years ago, this was not the case. It was quite the opposite problem.”