News
28 January, 2025
Assaults doubling
Violent incidents between homeless and Council staff have doubled in the past 12 months and are increasing in frequency and intensity, according to Moreton Bay Council.
The City of Moreton Bay CEO, Scott Waters, last week defended claims that council was acting heartlessly in enforcing rules banning pets, caravans and camper trailers for people staying on council land, as well as not servicing toilets and emptying bins.
The council was dealing with a surge in aggression towards staff, with assaults doubling between 2023 and 2024, from 31 critical incidents in 2023 to 70 in 2024.
At the same time, council was being inundated with complaints from the public, with thousands being received in the past year.
Mr Waters said ensuring workplace health and safety for staff was paramount.
“Our reporting shows incidents between council employees and people experiencing homelessness have more than doubled from 2023 to 2024,” Mr Waters said.
“Not only are they increasing in frequency, but the level of violence is escalating and posing critical risks to our staff.
“Safety is non-negotiable and Council fully supports our staff.
“City of Moreton Bay has zero tolerance for occupational violence and aggression towards its employees.”
A spokesperson added that “one critical incident is too many when it comes to staff safety”, saying council staff are verbally abused daily and “it has become so commonplace that many people do not register this as a concern”.
The spokesperson said council was receiving “ongoing feedback about the significant increase in illegal behaviours in public places, including assaults, fighting and use of dangerous weapons, drug abuse and dogs not under effective control”.
“Council legally must investigate reports pertaining to public health and safety matters, as well as ensuring amenity and environmental protection,” they said.
“At Centenary Lakes Park, Caboolture.
Inset - Rubbish bin overflowing in Deception Bay. Photos: Facebook.
Workforce safe and in this instance “it was a cease work order, made under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, that Council was bound to comply with, that necessitated a change to our service in some areas.”
Knows, that not all people experiencing homelessness conduct illegal behaviour or treat our staff, or the broader community, in an aggressive manner,” Mr Waters said.
These changes included instructing all Operations and Safety staff to maintain a 50-metre distance from areas with People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) and illegal camping in public spaces, with security personnel now accompanying Council staff when servicing public spaces, where safe.
As The Sentinel reported last week, two food charity services shared their observations, with one in south Moreton Bay observing a rise in people sleeping in tents, and the other charity noting an increase in drug use.
One charity stated that some of the friction was potentially due to deteriorating conditions in the homeless camps and Council not regularly servicing toilets and rubbish bins, which reflected badly on the homeless community.
Moreton Bay Council said that it was bound by legal obligations to keep its “Council genuinely appreciates, and intimately”.
“However, safety and public health are legislated requirements that Council by law, is required to act on.”
Mr Waters said Council was applying rules consistent with other councils across the state.
