Opinion: Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s push for Pinkenba housing fix

For the past 292 days I’ve been calling for the State and Federal governments to work together to open the Pinkenba quarantine facility for emergency housing. It can be done, writes Adrian Schrinner.

Early each morning when Nina, the kids and I go for a walk, we’ve recently come across a campsite alongside Bulimba Creek.

The family living there desperately need shelter.

Their terrible plight is being repeated throughout the suburbs of Brisbane and beyond in other cities and towns.

I was born in Brisbane and I’ve never seen it like this. It’s genuinely heartbreaking.

San Francisco. Los Angeles. Paris. Rome.

They’re cities where you expect to see significant numbers of homeless people.

But not Brisbane.

I’m both saddened and frustrated about this situation. But there’s no point in the blame game.

A unique sequence of circumstances – from an unexpected population influx to global supply chain issues– have collided together to cause this crisis.

Homeless people living at Musgrave Park in West End. Picture David Clark

No single level of government can be blamed. But these challenges can’t be solved by any single level of government either.

The question now is what are we collectively prepared to do about it.

For the past 292 days I’ve been calling for the State and Federal governments to work together to open the Pinkenba quarantine facility for emergency housing.

There’s 500 beds sitting idle there right now, all funded by taxpayers.

I’ve been there. I’ve toured the facility.

I know, with some adjustments, that it can be used, at least temporarily, for emergency accommodation.

I’ve heard all the excuses but it’s still a whole lot better than living in a car or a tent.

Since The Courier-Mail’s Hitting Home series, the State Government has done well responding with some innovative medium and long-term measures.

But I’m upset that people are living on Brisbane’s streets while Pinkenba sits empty.

To me, it’s a no-brainer.

It’s absurd that the Federal Government has said it would open Pinkenba for crisis accommodation during a natural disaster but not during the current housing disaster.

It’s not good enough that the State Government keeps gravitating between excuses about why Pinkenba won’t work to duck-shoving its responsibilities to everyone else.

Our Council stands ready to help open Pinkenba, as I’ve said before.

Today I’m announcing our Council is prepared to commit a $1 million to help bring Pinkenba up to standard, money I’d like to see used to put in laundry facilities, as well as provide transport and library services.

This money will be allocated in next month’s Council budget.

This is a significant contribution to something well beyond the normal remit of local government.

But I’m convinced Brisbane residents strongly support using the facility for crisis accommodation.

There’s a million more reasons to get Pinkenba open.

Now let’s make it happen.

Adrian Schrinner – Lord Mayor of Brisbane