Waterfront photo highlights sad reality for Aussies: 'People will do anything'
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.
Real estate agent's 'disgusting' post highlights dark problem in Australia
Rough sleepers in tent city face uncertainty as upcoming festival threatens community
Wild weather exposes 'real problem' struggling Aussies living in tents face
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.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
I'm Alive Thanks to Truman
Paul Benjamin Linton says our use of the atom bomb was immoral (Letters, Aug. 18). Perhaps. But 80 years ago, I was 18, waiting at Newport Naval base in early August, to become a gunner on a new cruiser, one of a half million set to invade Tokyo Bay. Then President Truman intervened. In the ensuing years, I was married to a wonderful woman for nearly eight decades and raised a family that now numbers 30 with nine great-grandchildren—all over-achievers. My wife and I led not inconsequential lives as well.
Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Netanyahu brands Australia's Albanese ‘weak' over Palestinian state recognition
Albanese responded pointedly Wednesday: 'I treat leaders of other countries with respect. I engage with them in a diplomatic way.' 'I don't take these things personally,' Albanese said. 'Increasingly there is global concern and global concern because people want to see an end to the cycle of violence that we have seen for far too long. That is what Australians want to see as well.' Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke further inflamed Israel's anger Monday by cancelling the visa of far-right Israeli lawmaker Simcha Rothman, a member of Netanyahu's coalition, who planned an Australian speaking tour. Advertisement Rothman is a member of the Religious Zionism party, which supports continuation of the war, the mass relocation of Palestinians through what it describes as voluntary migration and the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza. Burke on Wednesday accused Netanyahu of 'lashing out' against Australia as he had done against Britain, Canada, France, Ireland, Norway and Spain over recognition of a Palestinian state. Burke denied Albanese was weak. Advertisement 'Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,' Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar retaliated Monday for Rothman's treatment by revoking visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority. Saar also told the Israeli Embassy in Australia to 'carefully examine' any official visa applications from Australia to Israel. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong responded by accusing the Netanyahu government of isolating Israel. Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the nation's peak advocacy group, said the Jewish community was 'profoundly disturbed and concerned by the rapidly deteriorating state of relations' between the two countries. Australian Jews did not feel 'abandoned' by the Albanese government, rejecting Netanyahu's accusation, Ryvchin said. 'When allies speak, they should speak frankly, robustly, but also in a dignified way, and I think firing off tweets which contain elements of abuse to them,' Ryvchin said. 'I don't think that's the way to operate.' Australia is an increasingly multicultural country where more than half the population was born overseas or has at least one foreign parent. There is widespread community concern over the Israel-Hamas war, indicated by tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching over the Sydney Harbor Bridge earlier this month. Antisemitism has reached unprecedented levels across Australia, which the government acknowledged last year by appointing the nation's first Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Sydney lawyer Jillian Segal. Australia's conservative opposition party has pledged to reverse Australia's recognition of Palestine if it wins the next election, which is due in 2028. The worsening bilateral relationship with Israel was spilling over into Australia's relationship with the United States, an important ally that doesn't recognize a Palestinian state, opposition leader Sussan Ley said. Advertisement 'The prime minister needs to explain how he is going to get this relationship (with Israel) that he has so badly mismanaged back on track,' Ley told reporters.
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Some Denver City Council members express concerns about $26,000 retreat: "I'm uncomfortable with the timing"
Two Denver City Council members on Tuesday expressed concerns about a two-night Colorado mountain retreat for Denver City Council members next week that carried a $26,000 price tag, even as 171 city workers are being notified that they are losing their jobs. "I'm uncomfortable with the timing," said council member Paul Kashmann on Tuesday, about the retreat that was spotlighted Monday by a CBS News Investigation. "I don't believe the timing is anywhere close to ideal, and that's an understatement." Denver city workers began receiving notifications Monday that they were being laid off as part of an effort to help the city address a $200 million budget deficit projected for 2026. Ten of Denver's 13 councilmembers are scheduled to go on the retreat from August 27- 29 at the Lone Rock retreat center in Park County. Council representative Stacie Gilmore was not planning to attend the team building and professional development retreat due to a scheduling conflict, but said, "A camping trip, campfire, and s'mores up at Genesee would help as much. And be way cheaper". Council President Amanda Sandoval had pushed for the high country retreat saying, "So just because we're having a time of crisis doesn't mean council shouldn't learn to work better together." Sandoval said the retreat had been discussed since last December, and a contract was signed on May 8. It called for the city council to pay $16,000 for facility use, meals and rooms, $2,600 for ADA transportation, and $7,600 for a facilitator and assessment tool, bringing the cost to about $26,000. In April, Sandoval emailed her colleagues on the city council about the retreat, writing, "I truly believe this will be an incredible opportunity for us to step away from the day-to-day hustle, get to know each other better in a beautiful setting, and just maybe have some fun." She said she had attended an event at the facility in 2024, "and I absolutely fell in love with the facility. I think you all will too". The money came out of the city council's annual budget. Two weeks after signing the contract, Mayor Mike Johnston detailed layoffs, furloughs, and cost-cutting that would be needed to address Denver's financial deficit. "I would never have done any of this", said Sandoval, "had I known any of this information prior to signing that contract." She said the city has tried unsuccessfully to get a refund or reschedule the retreat, which will last about 36 hours. The Park County facility features "breathtaking views," according to its website, 60 individual cabins along with restaurants, meeting spaces, a fitness center, and a yoga room. Asked if there were less expensive options closer to Denver, Sandoval said, "There aren't a lot of options. We do not have a facility like that in Denver." She said the retreat will bring the council together to work more productively, "so we can serve the residents of Denver." Kashmann said he was "not sure" if he would still go to the retreat, in light of the layoffs. "I will decide what's the best use of my time," he said. He complimented Sandoval for "trying to make us more efficient" and said he thought there was value in team building and making the council a more effective body. "I understand people's concerns with the dollars," said Kashmann, who reiterated, "the main concern is the timing".
