Waterfront photo highlights sad reality for Aussies: 'People will do anything'

Yahoo

09-04-2025

As the federal election looms, Australia's housing crisis is at the forefront of voters' minds, with many calling for urgent action on the rising price of homes and the shortage of available properties.
In 2025, rental prices remain dizzyingly high. And although in February the national vacancy rate rose to 1.3 per cent, up from 1.0 per cent in January, they're still well below the three per cent threshold typically indicative of a balanced market.
This week in Queensland, a shocking video surfaced online, capturing an individual's camp in quite an unexpected location — on a body of water at the Gold Coast. The footage, filmed in Surfers Paradise, shows a tent suspended by rope and supported by two paddleboards, floating on the Nerang River.
It sparked widespread concern among responders, with some saying they were "struggling to process" the sad scene. "This is what the housing crisis has come to," one person replied.
"People will do anything when there is a lack of funds and care," another said. "There is no affordable housing available in this country," a third wrote.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a spokesperson for the City of Gold Coast council said its officers had referred the matter to the Department of Housing and local welfare services, which are equipped to provide proper support. "The City does not provide any direct housing or welfare services," they said.
Across the country, it's far from uncommon for Australians to resort to sleeping in tents — though more so on a body of water — with a lack of available resources forcing people to take drastic action.
Paul Slater, who runs the Northwest Community Group and manages a makeshift "tent city" in Musgrave Park, in Brisbane's south, said he's struggling to keep up with the enormous demand for his services.
Paul gets dozens of messages every week from those seeking help and has supplied over 500 tents to battling Australians last year alone. He said within the last couple of decades, there's been an "absolute failure on all levels of government" when it comes to social housing.
"It's clear we're in an emergency," he earlier told Yahoo. "I've got people calling me multiple times per day, sleeping on concrete with nowhere to go.
"I've got one lady... she's been searching every day for rentals. She's been to 100 inspections and can't get anywhere within her budget for her and her two children. She's not getting any support, and she has two weeks until she's homeless.
"I got a call last night from another woman out at Redcliffe who's sleeping in her car with three children, 8, 10, and 14 — three girls. She's been sleeping in her CAR."
Despite this, homeless people in Brisbane's tent cities were earlier this year given 24 hours to pack up their things and leave, amid a crackdown on temporary housing on public land.
The move was announced by Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner in mid-March, stating the public had raised concerns about the safety of people sleeping on public land, particularly at Musgrave Park.
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The idea sparked widespread condemnation, with Gabba Ward councillor Trina Massey branding the decision "cruel and hypocritical".
"The Lord Mayor's cruel and opportunistic stance, criminalising homelessness just days after vulnerable communities were exposed to severe weather, does nothing to support those facing domestic violence, substance abuse or others falling through the cracks," she said.
And tent living is not just a Queensland issue, with similar "cities" popping up right across Australia due to a shortage of adequate accommodation.
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