‘Where am I going to go?' Dismay as Queensland council begins tearing down tent encampment

The Guardian

09-04-2025

Homeless residents of one of Moreton Bay's largest encampments watched on as council rangers and an excavator began tearing down their tents on Wednesday.
A dozen police and council officers arrived at Eddie Hyland Park in Lawnton on Wednesday morning. The large park, next to the Pine Rivers Showgrounds, has been home to a dozen or more people, with about 15 tents standing when authorities arrived on Wednesday morning.
Residents, who had previously been served with notices threatening fines of more than $8,000, were told they had an hour to move.
One of the tents destroyed was home to Carol Ross, an Indigenous woman from North Stradbroke Island who has been homeless for two years.
Ross was intercepted by officials while walking to the shops.
'I came back, and they were rushing me to get all my stuff out so they can pull it down,' she said.
She allowed them to remove her tent 'because I don't want trouble'.
Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter
Ross said she wasn't sure where she would sleep on Wednesday night; she had been left with little more than a mattress.
Ross's tent was among two removed from the encampment on Wednesday, with residents expecting authorities to return on Thursday to clear out the rest.
Stacey Richardson, another homeless resident of the park, has refused to leave unless she is given an alternative place to live.
'Where am I going to go?' she said. 'They're going to have to drag me out.'
Richardson said she had been threatened with a fine, but never warned that her possessions might be removed.
Mark Ely said he had been living in a rental about a kilometre down the road for eight years when he became homeless.
'I never missed a rental payment and then the owner sold it to a developer … It's so un-Australian, I can't believe it,' he said.
Beau Haywood, the founder of homelessness charity Nourish Street, organised a protest against the council's housing policies at its offices nearby on Wednesday morning. A number of homeless people attended.
He said an hour wasn't long enough notice to give to residents to pack up their tents. 'How long would it take you to pack up your house?'
The City of Moreton Bay amended its local laws in February to effectively ban homelessness by repealing regulations that had allowed people to set up camp in public spaces such as parks.
Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025
Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters
after newsletter promotion
Since December it has issued numerous threats that it would fine homeless people up to $8,006 for 'camping' in vans, with pets or, lately, in tents. No fines have yet been issued.
Haywood said many people had abandoned their tents to live in less visible sleeping bags or park benches out of fear of being moved on.
A spokesperson for the City of Moreton Bay said 'camping on public land, and the storing of goods on public land, contravenes the city council's local laws and is therefore illegal for all people in City of Moreton Bay'.
The spokesperson said of 12 people at Eddie Hyland Park, eight had previously been served compliance notices and had therefore 'received a significant amount of notice to comply (in excess of two weeks)'. Four were newly identified and issued new notices.
'This was a scheduled compliance action,' the spokesperson said.
All individuals at the park who had been issued with notices 'have been offered the opportunity to be referred by council to specialist homelessness services and the Department of Housing and Public Works,' the spokesperson said.
'It is disappointing that some advocates continue to subject the most vulnerable in our community to accept unsafe, makeshift shelters in public parks as a reasonable solution for homelessness.'
Liberal National party minister for housing, Sam O'Connor, said there is 'housing help available'.
'Support has been and will continue to be offered. When support is offered, I urge people to please take it up – whether it's hotel or motel accommodation or being connected to services which can make a real difference,' he said.
'We have people ready to support you and help you take the next step.'
There are 4,521 people on the social housing waiting list in Moreton Bay, the longest in Queensland.