Locals on a tiny island off Australia's most northern tip say state and federal governments are to blame for staggering house prices that are pushing families into homelessness.
When Rita Kebisu was told to vacate her house on Thursday Island in June, she began searching for another home.
But with only one property listed for rent in the past four months on the entire island, the mother-of-two was forced to sell most of her belongings and move in with her mother.
Her teenage sons have both gone to live with other relatives — one of them in an overcrowded house and the other on a different island in the Torres Strait.
"It's been very stressful for us," Ms Kebisu said.
"It's not only affecting me, it's affecting my children as well because they don't have a stable accommodation.
"They keep asking me 'have we found somewhere yet?' Sometimes the stress gets too much and people just start losing it."
Her predicament is not uncommon for locals trying to rent privately on Thursday Island, a services hub for the Torres Strait jam-packed with government departments.
Ms Kebisu said Torres Strait Islanders were being priced out of the housing market.
"The housing market doesn't work for us locals. It's mainly for government departments or contractors with big income," she said.
Perfect storm on a tiny island
Thursday Island is a mere 3.5 square kilometres in size.
Mayor Vonda Malone said more than half the island was Queensland Government owned and there was huge demand to accommodate public sector employees including doctors, nurses, and teachers.
"That has put huge pressure on our housing," Cr Malone said.
"It's left very little for the local people to access."
She said the situation caused people, especially young locals looking to enter the housing market, to move away.
It also pushed property prices through the roof.
Kellie Thompson, who owns the region's only real estate business, said a two-bedroom unit on Thursday Island ranged from $700 to more than $1,000 per week.
In comparison, the average price for a two-bedroom apartment in inner Sydney is about $660 per week, according to the latest government data.
Ms Kebisu said Thursday Island locals were priced out of the housing marked.
"I am a single parent with two dependent children. I really can't afford that," she said.
'We're increasing the gap'
Thursday Island locals are calling for a cap on prices to enable them to afford the rent.
"We're paying high rent and then we also have to pay the high cost of living," Ms Kebisu said.
"This is where we go into the poverty cycle.
"We're supposed to be closing the gap, but we're not closing the gap. We're increasing the gap, especially here on Thursday Island."
Cr Malone said the issue could be addressed through more local employment which would allow Torres Strait Islanders to access government-owned accommodation on Thursday Island.
"Reducing the FIFO … that's been proposed," Cr Malone said.
She said it was also important to provide pathways for locals to purchase affordable housing commission properties from the State Government.
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing and Public Works said in the past five years, the Government had not purchased any new homes for its employees or for social housing on Thursday Island.
The Premier's office has also been contacted for comment.
'They're building all over the island'
Real estate agent Kellie Thompson said the situation was slowly improving.
"What they were doing is all the State Government departments were actually trying to bid up on one another because they actually needed accommodation for staff," Ms Thompson said.
"There's 36 government departments crammed onto an island that you can run around in 30 minutes, and they have to be here."
She said the Torres Strait was a strategically important region.
"It's our only border with a neighbouring country, it's a major world shipping route, and plus you've got all the Indigenous services that have to be provided," she said.
"What they've done is they've actually stepped up, and rather than soak up the existing rentals that were available in the private market they've actually built their own.
"They're building all over the island, even now."
But she said housing was still expensive.
"Things are expensive here. It all has to be freighted up from Cairns," she said.
"They're islands — there's only so much land you can build on."
Ms Kebisu said she remained on a long waiting list for social housing on Thursday Island.
A Department of Housing spokesperson said 51 applicants were waiting to access public housing at the end of September 2020.
In total, the State Government owns 264 social housing dwellings on the island, of which 253 were occupied.
