‘A sobering indictment’: 14 homeless people die a year in public parks or countryside in Australia, analysis finds

Homeless camp near Wagga beach, on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River. On Saturday, a 37-year-old mother living in the camp was taken to hospital after one of her newborn twin babies died. Photograph: Sean Davey/The Guardian

Fourteen rough sleepers are dying in public parks or countryside areas each year on average in Australia, an analysis of hidden death reports reveals.

The deaths of a young international student sleeping rough in Hyde Park, a young homeless mother who died of sepsis in Western Australia, and a newborn baby at a makeshift homeless camp near Wagga beach have prompted an outpouring of grief and shock in recent weeks.