An outback Queensland town is offering a $20,000 grant to people who build a home and move there, as its council seeks to increase the population to 1,000.
Quilpie, about 950km west of Brisbane, will pay the homeowner grant to anyone who constructs a house in the region and lives in it for at least 12 months.
The council hopes to attract at least 10 new residents through the scheme and is preparing to put 60 residential lots on the market next year.
Quilpie offers $20,000 to new homeowners
Mayor Ben Hall said the town provided a safe and prosperous lifestyle that was becoming harder to find in major cities.
“It’s safe. It’s everything the city is not,” he said on Sunrise.
“The kids still drink from the hose, they play on the street until the lights come on, and your car’s where you left it when you parked it last night.”
Quilpie has hospitals, schools and shops, while flights connect the town with Brisbane twice a week. Its local school caters for pupils through to Year 10, and families with older children can access subsidised boarding arrangements in south-east Queensland.
Land is priced at an average of between $25,000 and $30,000, although Mr Hall acknowledged that building costs could be considerably higher than in south-east Queensland.
“Land is cheap and we’re giving you 20k back if you build a house,” he said. “But then your building costs, I will admit, are quite a considerable expense compared to the south east.”
He said new residents would not necessarily have to build a conventional home, describing Quilpie as a place with an outdoor way of life.
“We live a very alfresco lifestyle out here,” Mr Hall said. “It’s all what you’re looking for.”
Despite the council’s longer-term population target, the mayor said it would be satisfied if the initiative brought 10 suitable residents to the town.
“We only need about 10 more. We’d be happy with that. 10 good quality ones too. That’d be fantastic,” he said. “Just to mash in with the rest of us out here.”
