City of Moreton Bay claims homeless people consented to having camps thrown away

Australia Broadcast Center

6 hours ago

A Queensland council says homeless campers "consented" to having their tents destroyed and possessions thrown into rubbish trucks during the clearing of a park used by rough sleepers.
The City of Moreton Bay denied destroying people's property and said it only removed "unwanted items" from camps that had been "abandoned" by their owners.
It comes after the council made homeless camping illegal on public land in March, prompting a crackdown on tent cities in April.
Former homeless woman Debbie Bobeldyk said she had not left her camp willingly, nor had she consented to the council throwing out her personal belongings.
She said the council threw away an urn containing her daughter's ashes, her fridge, portable air conditioner and several fences.
The 58-year-old was one of the homeless campers who left Eddie Hyland Park in April after the council threatened her with a maximum fine of $8,065 if she stayed.
Ms Bobeldyk said council officers gave her and her husband, John, one hour to collect what belongings they could before officers demolished their tent site with an excavator.
"We couldn't pack everything up in that time, I could hardly breathe because of the panic, we could hardly get any of it," Ms Bobeldyk said.
"We never gave them permission.
A council spokesperson said it took a sensitive and empathetic approach to homeless campers.
"City of Moreton Bay maintains a compassionate approach and supports rough sleepers to gather their personal items," the spokesperson said.
"Council officers provide rough sleepers with bags for them to store and retain items such as clothing, medication and toiletries.
"Council collects items identified as waste by rough sleepers and items that have been abandoned at campsites."
The spokesperson said the council might also take items and hold them for 20 days for homeless people to collect.
Homeless man Karl Eichin said he was evicted from his camp at Sweeney Reserve in April, and had not left of his own free will.
The 43-year-old said he felt "intimidated" into leaving by a group of about eight council and police officers.
Mr Eichin moved to a council-owned bush reserve in Kallangur.
He is one of 11 homeless campers in Kallangur being represented by human rights lawyers in a Supreme Court case against the City of Moreton Bay.
Mr Eichin said he did not want to live in a tent in Kallangur, but he had not been offered social housing.
"I've been on the waiting list for years. I've had to go back and forth with [the Department of] Housing, but there are just so many people."
The latest state government figures show that, as of March, there were 5,493 people on the social housing waiting list in the City of Moreton Bay — the highest in the region's history.
The number of people on the Moreton Bay waiting list has more than doubled since 2018.