A homelessness worker in regional Victoria has seen a 200% increase in people living in free campgrounds – and a big increase in families “sleeping rough”, he told the ABC this week. For many people, finding a rental is “nearly impossible”, he said.
At the same time, disputes over homeless encampments are happening across Australia. Lately, local governments have abandoned their “welfare first” approach to people camping on public land, seizing and destroying tents and personal belongings.
In Queensland, legal action supported by Basic Rights Queensland recently found that eviction of a homeless camp by Moreton Bay City Council, north of Brisbane, violated human rights, with those evicted “not treated as humans”.
