Sharp spike in Housing SA anti-social complaints as residents condemn ‘junkie’s paradise’ at Morphett Vale

Complaints about public housing troublemakers have spiked in the past year, with one Adelaide spot labelled a “junkie’s paradise”. Search the data to see complaints near you.

Public housing troublemakers spark more than 130 anti-social behaviour complaints a week on average, official figures show, amid residents’ condemnation of the state’s worst “junkie’s paradise” ghetto.

New data released under Freedom of Information laws reveals almost 65,000 Housing Trust complaints were recorded over the past decade amid a sharp spike in the past year.

The Opposition claimed a Liberal crackdown on bad behaviour launched four years ago had “unravelled” under Labor.

State government officials, however, said anti-social behaviour was not tolerated and was a breach of tenancy conditions but authorities had to strike a balance between managing complex issues with residents having a right to live peacefully.

The SA Housing Authority data revealed a 25 per cent spike in complaints over the past financial year to an almost decade-high of nearly 6900.

Almost half of all complaints – nearly 31,000 – were recorded as serious or criminal linked to a property or intentional and reckless home damage along with moderate objections for repeated noise, behaviour or house-related issues.

Most incidents – 33,676 – were deemed minor noise complaints, anti-social behaviour or property damage, according to analysis of the most comprehensive data released in more than 10 years.

The FOI tranche revealed Morphett Vale as the worst hotspot after 1880 complaints recorded between 2013/14 and the past financial year along with the third-highest rate of serious call outs.

Christies Downs, adjacent in Adelaide’s south, had the most serious complaints.

Morphett Vale resident, grandfather and former mine worker John Levins, 66, has seen a dramatic increase in disturbances around his unit at ground zero over the past year.

Housing Trust resident John Levins 66, and his dog Bindi at his Morphett Vale unit. Thursday. Picture Mark Brake

He is happy with his pet dog Bindi but expressed frustration that some locals were ruining the “beautiful” neighbourhood he has lived in for two years.

“I’ve called the police about four times in the past few months, and I tell them the same thing. Nothing changes,” he said.

“I’m old-fashioned, I can look after myself, but the police say to be careful because people can carry knives or guns.”

The father of four, grandfather of 10 and soon to be great-grandfather – also life member of the local football club – blamed a group of visitors for yelling, drinking and fighting.

Housing Trust units at Morphett Vale have been labelled as a “junkie’s paradise”. Picture Mark Brake

Despite multiple calls to Housing SA and police, fights keep erupting, he said.

Residents can be evicted after receiving three formal warnings from Housing SA.

Last year, there were 172 evictions.

His neighbour, who declined to be identified over retaliation fears, added: “It’s just a junkies’ paradise, it’s so full on.

“In units all around here, crime is just getting out of control.

“There’s drug dealing, there’s fires, there’s fights. I can’t do anything more because it would just be too easy to throw a brick through my window and retaliate.

“I know lots of decent, better behaved people who are living on the streets. They’re homeless.

“Yet these clowns have been carrying on for ages. If it’s not them, then it’s the junkies down the road. It’s a cycle.”

He is constantly kept awake until 4am from the worst noise and behaviour in nine years.

“Two to three nights a week, we’re kept up till 3-4am listening to people scream at each other,” he said.

“There’s groups out there absolutely going off, and they’re usually parro. They rock up with their cartons and casks in the afternoon, refuse to leave and make hell for us.”

He said at least 10 calls police in recent months – same from neighbours – were to no avail.

“They come and they tell them to leave but they never actually do anything to stop it,” he said.

Kevin Bell in front of his unit in Prospect. picture: Supplied

“I’ve been to the housing trust to complain, and they just tell me to call the police.”

He said many elderly residents have moved out because “they just couldn’t cope”.

“It’s non-stop, you can put your money on it almost every night something will happen,” he said.

“I get up during the night after hearing the noise and there’s 10 or 15 of them all sitting there with their bongs and their bowls of weed and their casks. It’s non-stop.”

The FOI data showed the biggest spike in serious incidents occurred at Ottoway and nearby Largs North, in Adelaide’s north west, and Norwood in the east.

Damage sustained to the house of Housing Trust tenant Kevin Bell on Christmas Day 2022. Picture: supplied

West Beach, Dulwich in the east, and Torrensville also in the western suburbs recorded the most increases in the past decade.

Whyalla Stuart was the worst regional area with 1859 complaints, and the third-highest serious incident count, recorded against residents in the northeast corner of the Iron Triangle town, almost 400km north of Adelaide.

West Hindmarsh and Henley Beach, in Adelaide’s western suburbs, along with Andrews Farm, in the north, recorded the biggest increases over the past year.

The best areas with just one complaint included Crafers in the Adelaide Hills, Edithburgh on the Yorke Peninsula, Elliston on the Eyre Peninsula and Hayborough at Victor Harbor.

More than 52,000 residents live in at least 33,000 public housing properties in SA.

Housing SA staff investigate complaints to substantiate allegations, and in some instances, offer mediation to resolve neighbourhood disputes.

But if this fails tenants can be relocated.

Authorities encouraged people to report complaints but should call the police with about risks safety or suspected criminal behaviour.

Both Housing SA and SA Police have well-established processes to share information about community safety.

Prospect grandfather Kevin Bell, 65, said neighbours had left a trial of destruction including one who was evicted after causing $100,000 damage to his $400,000 property and threatened him

Another neighbour defecated in and damaged his flat at Christmas, which is still not fully fixed.

Mr Bell, a part-time retail worker, has complained multiple times about his new inner north home but the Housing Trust and police refer issues to each other.

“It’s just on and on and on and at times it has been frightening,” said Mr Bell, a father of two and grandfather of five.

“It’s constantly backwards and forwards. I’m not feeling very good at all.”

Mr Bell said he was not aware of any complaints made against him.

Upper House Liberal MP Michelle Lensink accused Labor of “unravelling” a former government crackdown. Picture: Matt Loxton

Opposition spokeswoman Michelle Lensink said the level of offending was concerning, especially since Labor came to power last year.

She said the Liberal government introduced a “clear anti-social behaviour policy” in April 2019 that “tidied up” rules, reduced incidents and were easier to understand.

“Because the majority of public housing tenants do the right thing and all neighbours deserve the right to live in harmony,” she said.

“It’s incredibly disappointing that this has unravelled under Labor in such a short space of time.”

Human Services Minister Nat Cook during Parliament Question Time. She said authorities had to strike a balance. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Human Services Minister Nat Cook said the vast majority of properties “are home to great tenants who are not the subject of complaints” but a “few receive higher numbers”.

“Anti-social behaviour is not tolerated by Housing SA and tenants who engage in it are in breach of their tenancy conditions,” she said.

“Where a tenant’s behaviour is impacted by their health, disability or prior trauma, we try to connect them with supports to help them meet their tenancy obligations.

“We aim to strike a balance between supporting tenants with complex circumstances, as the community expects us to do, and the rights of neighbours to live peacefully in their own homes.”

She said the majority of all complaints, which regularly rise and fall, were minor.

Originally published as Sharp spike in Housing SA anti-social complaints as residents condemn ‘junkie’s paradise’ at Morphett Vale