Resident complains to council about Carey Park, Southport homeless camp

A growing homeless camp on the Gold Coast poses a safety risk with a children’s playground nearby. Read what residents are saying

The growing homeless camp in Carey Park poses a safety risk with a children’s playground nearby, a resident has warned council.

A resident, who asked not to be named, provided an aerial map to The Bulletin showing the camp’s location on the Gold Coast Highway opposite the Broadwater Parklands.

“The police visited the encampment last week around Thursday — but it has grown significantly since then and growing every day,” the resident said.

“There are homeless shelters around Southport but I suspect the drug and alcohol policies are what stop these people using them.

“It is disturbing that it is allowed to persist for so long right across the road from a children’s playground. We seem to be turning into downtown LA or San Francisco, where billions are spent and the problem just keeps getting worse.

A Gold Coast resident sent this photograph to The Bulletin concerned about a homeless camp in Carey Park and nearby playground.

“All those governments seem to be doing is creating a homeless industrial complex which just soaks up all the money.”

The resident said he had lodged a complaint with council but no action had been taken yet.

Area councillor Brooke Patterson said she had received an update from officers on Monday but was advised not to make that information available for public distribution.

She has sent off questions from The Bulletin to the administration.

The resident said solutions at government levels were not working.

“Southport has long had a problem with homelessness and drugs, Woolworths and Coles in Australia Fair now have security guards due to the out of control shoplifting,” he said.

The tent city where the homeless are again camping out in Carey Park at Southport.

“The core of the problem here seems to be drugs and alcohol. I have seen it first hand, drugs are openly dealt on the streets around Australia Fair. I don’t know what the solution is, but whatever the government is doing it is not working.”

Welfare agencies, on the latest count, say there are 42 people who are camping in parks and shop laneways between the Sundale Bridge and Charis Seafoods at Biggera Waters.

The bigger picture sees more than 900 people homeless across the city.

Despite disturbing images in Southport, city leaders say the homeless crisis is worse on the Coast’s southern end.

All stakeholders agree it will be at least two years before low cost housing is built and provides decent accommodation for the Southport homeless.

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Originally published as Resident complains to council about Carey Park, Southport homeless camp