Latest news with #JohnBobeldyk
ABC News
08-07-2025
- ABC News
City of Moreton Bay claims homeless people consented to having camps thrown away
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.
7NEWS
24-04-2025
- Politics
- 7NEWS
‘Completely heartless': Eddie Hyland Park homeless camp bulldozed during rainstorm and belongings dumped by Queensland council
Angry, frustrated and with nowhere else to go, people living rough in a park north of Brisbane have been given just one hour to gather their belongings before being evicted. The timing of the move just a day before Anzac Day has been widely criticised, with a disproportionate number of veterans experiencing homelessness across Australia. The eviction of campers living rough in Eddie Hyland Park in Lawnton also came as rain fell on the region, with more rain forecast into the weekend. Moreton Bay City rangers and police on Thursday morning told people camping in the park they had one hour to leave before excavators would be brought in to begin tearing down their tents. John Bobeldyk, whose home was destroyed in the 2022 Queensland floods, told 7NEWS the council wants them 'out of sight and out of mind'. 'We've got nowhere to go, where are we meant to go now?' he asked. 'It's completely heartless.' Bobeldyk said after his home was destroyed, he initially moved into a caravan park but it became too expensive for him and he eventually ended up living in a tent. Tracey Osmond, who had also been camping in the park, said housing services teams in attendance during the eviction had not been able to offer other accommodation to anyone. 'They said they have nothing, absolutely nothing available,' she said. Osmond called for the mayor to personally tell people why he is evicting them. 'They won't even listen to you ... they're not telling us where we can go,' she said. 'It's raining today and there's no compassion.' The park was targeted in a similar eviction earlier this month. At the time, Moreton Bay City Council said rough sleepers had received a 'significant amount of notice to comply' after community members raised serious concerns about the decline of public space access. Council has again been contacted for comment. The evictions have been widely criticised, with at least one person commenting on social media: 'It's Anzac Day tomorrow, is this really what they sacrificed their lives for? 'My heart breaks, many of us are only two pay cheques from where these people are.' 'National Disgrace' Vasey RSL Care said veteran homelessness is a 'national disgrace'. 'Veterans — those same people we applaud on Anzac Day — are disproportionately homeless, unemployed, and dying by suicide,' Vasey RSL Care CEO Janna Voloshin said. 'They are three times more likely to sleep rough than other Australians. That is not just unacceptable, it is a national disgrace. 'This Anzac Day, we remember the dead. But let's also protect the living ... no one who served Australia should be abandoned.' Local charity Nourish Street founder Beau Haywood told 7NEWS people who had been camping in the park were 'angry, frustrated and have nowhere to go'. 'Housing services have been giving out referrals (but) you can't sleep on a referral,' he said. 'I'm heartbroken, I feel for these people. The impact on mental health is massive. 'I think when you have nowhere else to go, and what you do have has just been bulldozed, there are no words for it. 'I don't want to see homelessness as much as the next person but I think that there does need to be a compassionate approach about how they do it, and maybe have housing in place and somewhere for them to go.' In May 2019, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute's Homelessness Among Australian Veterans report strongly suggested veterans are overrepresented in the Australian homeless population. And approximately 1,555 current or former Australian Defence Force members identified as experiencing homelessness in the 2021 Census, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 2023-2024, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported about 1,600 specialist homelessness services clients had identified as current or former members of the ADF. 'The military service and transition risk factors associated with increased odds of becoming homeless ... include higher levels of psychological distress during service, and relationship breakdown and unemployment following transition,' Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute said.
