Council
20 February, 2025
Homeless site shuts down
A State MP has detailed the “concerning” observations she made while visiting the now closed Gayundah Arboretum Park in Woody Point, including seeing one man holding a large knife and other drugaffected individuals.
Moreton Bay Council announced it was clearing the entire homeless camp, including 13 individuals, at a cost of $110,000 earlier this month. This week the site was fenced off to allow clean-up works to begin, which will include removal of some ground surface area and associated waste items; ground maintenance and sanitation; and restoration of remnant vegetation. The community will be able to access the pathway along the foreshore. Council expects clean-up works to take approximately six months and will cost Council more than $110,000.
State Member for Redcliffe, Kerri-Anne Dooley, recently joined local charity Nourish Street on a night out doing tent-to-tent meal deliveries, including to residents at Gayundah Arboretum Park. Ms Dooley spent four hours alongside Nourish Street founder, Beau Haywood, delivering meals.
Ms Dooley admitted some encounters caused concern, especially at Gayundah Arboretum Park. “The interactions confirmed the public safety concerns raised with me by hundreds in our community,” she said. “At Gayundah Arboretum, there were quite a few overtly affected by drugs and one man carrying a large knife at the time of our visit. This was very concerning to me.
“As a registered nurse and Member of Parliament I had a duty of care to report this to the police. We cannot have people carrying knives/weapons in public spaces, nor accept drug use in public parks and beaches which are meant for all to use.”
Ms Dooley said, given her recent experience along with public concerns, she “wholeheartedly” supports Moreton Bay Council on their decision to close the park. “This current situation is related to matters of public health and safety,” she said. “As a nurse, I am concerned about the serious health risks I saw first-hand, alongside other illegal activities at the site.” Ms Dooley also noted some locations, including Gayundah Arboretum, had a lot of rubbish and smell of urine, further adding to the safety and health concerns, fearing that, without intervention, “someone could end up seriously injured or killed”.
“We can all have compassion on people doing it tough, but disrespecting our public parks and spaces like rubbish dumps is not ok,” she said.
The Department of Housing, Queensland Police Service and City of Moreton Bay have engaged with people experiencing homelessness on the site to inform them of the necessary site closure and connect them with alternative accommodation options and appropriate supports. A recent review of the site conducted by Council, following escalating complaints, found human waste, used toilet paper, used syringes and associated waste, drug paraphernalia, significant general and food waste, and active vermin and mosquito breeding.
City of Moreton Bay Acting Mayor Jodie Shipway emphasised the closure was due to serious public health and safety concerns, adding she hopes people don’t exploit this action “by bringing into this conversation, the very complex issue of homelessness”.
“It’s just not safe for people to be residing in these conditions, nor for the community to continue to use this public space,” she said. “No person should have to live in an unsafe environment and Council has a legal responsibility to act on these findings so that health and safety risks are removed.
“It is shocking to think that people are living amongst this waste, and I am sure the State Government will take their housing and support responsibilities seriously to help them.”
Aside from assisting in meal deliveries, Ms Dooley offered several of the people she interacted with a chance to get emergency assistance or free emergency accommodation, but noted several did not take her up on the offer or “unashamedly” told her they prefer to sleep in a tent and/or at the beach, naming having a pet, wanting to be left alone or not wanting to be near others who have drug or alcohol addictions as some of the reasons. One example was a family Ms Dooley invited to come to her office the next day to arrange emergency assistance, but who never came.
“My experience was meeting a variety of people who are sleeping rough or experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons,” she said.
“I met people who have fallen on tough times due to the lack of affordable housing, rent increases, family breakdown and drug abuse. “Many are known to Department of Housing already and quite a few acknowledged they do prefer to live in a tent at the beach than in a hotel offered as emergency accommodation.
“I took details of those who consented and asked for help and this information has been passed onto the Encircle Homelessness Outreach Assistance Program (HOAP) Team. They are following up with each of them.”
Ms Dooley added that it is “vitally important” for all levels of government to have connections with people experiencing homelessness, naming her federal colleague, Luke Howarth MP, as another example of an elected member who has one-on-one interactions with people sleeping rough in Redcliffe.
“He has been out to visit each of the known hot spots where people are sleeping rough in Redcliffe several times, both before and after Christmas, offering people sleeping rough a job. No one took up his offer,” Ms Dooley said.
Mr Haywood from Nourish Street said Ms Dooley’s presence on their meal delivery night was “heartening”, saying she brought about “wonderful engagement with those experiencing homelessness”. Mr Haywood extended an open invitation to any other MPs or councillors to volunteer with them and engage directly with the homeless community.
All people who were residing at the Gayundah Arboretum site have been offered accommodation by the State Government’s Department of Housing. According to Cr Shipway, many of the campers at Gayundah Arboretum have taken up the State’s offer of housing, however Council is also aware that a number have chosen not to.
Over the last two years, referrals to Council of people sleeping rough have increased by a staggering 250 per cent, with an independent report commissioned by Council stating Moreton Bay has less social housing dwellings per 10,000 people than Ipswich, Logan and Redland, and ranks only 4th for communities and housing funding per capita.
“We are very aware of how complex an issue homelessness is, often exacerbated by considerations such as family violence, mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse and employment difficulties,” she said.
“However, moving to another public site, does not address the root cause of the issue - which is the need for a stable roof over their head and proper support services.
“It should not take a public health and safety issue to see vulnerable people being supported, and I urge the State to deliver more crisis accommodation and social housing in City of Moreton Bay.
“Homelessness is a global concern however locally, Council has taken the lead on this for too long, and the State needs to step up and take their responsibilities seriously.”
