Southport tent city: If council want to move it anywhere, take it to council land at Bundall
If council are really serious about shifting Southport’s tent city, the perfect solution is closer than they think, writes Keith Woods.
Gold Coast
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This column has a real bugbear about the tent city at Southport.
But not in relation to the unfortunate souls who have made it their home.
What irks me most is that the real reason so many people appear to have an issue with it is not that it exists, but that it is so visible.
The outrage from so many residents – and the desire for council to move people on – seems to be not because people are horrified that so many find themselves without a roof over their heads, but that they have to be confronted with that reality.
The comments on social media have been brutal.
“It’s disgusting”, “the place looks like a rubbish dump”, they live in “pig squalor” with “piles of putrid rubbish around them”.
They have “been given notice” and must move on, “no second chances”.
Locals have also been witnessed by this newspaper frothing with anger at the tent city in their neighbourhood.
It’s harsh, to say the least.
Many of the people in our streets today, in cars and tents, are there not because – as so commonly assumed – they choose to do so, or have drug or alcohol problems.
The explosion in the number of homeless people on the Gold Coast is a direct and visible result of the failure of all levels of government to meet the city’s housing needs.
Remember all the people packing meeting halls a number of years ago to shoot down proposed City Plan amendments that would have allowed for higher densities?
They didn’t fancy the sight of tall buildings in their areas.
Well, this is the sight you have got instead.
People who have been overwhelmed by rising costs, in particular for rent, forced onto the streets.
The ones you can see, like those at Carey Park, are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more are couch-surfing, sleeping in cars in lonely back lots, or have left the city altogether.
It’s interesting to note that while council attempts to move homeless people on from Carey Park – with no clear alternative location provided to them – councillors are locked in discussions about an upcoming budget.
Supposedly it will be difficult for them to avoid jacking up rates as they deal with rising costs and ponder how to fund wonders like a new Lyric Theatre, which Mayor Tom Tate has previously mused about hosting West End shows like Les Miserables.
We’d all do well to consider some of the messages in that classic story, which deals with issues of desperate poverty and marginalisation.
It’s no exaggeration to say that a significant rate hike from council might be the additional bill shock that finally makes the finances of some families in the suburbs unsustainable.
Mayor Tate has also suggested giving the homeless at Carey Park a one-way ticket to Byron Bay where they would be safely out of sight and out of mind.
This column has a better idea. Make it a one-way ticket to the council complex at Bundall, where there is abundant green space and facilities.
Councillors may then see the tent city on their way to important meetings at council chambers.
In deliberations about budgets and developments, City Plans and grand projects, that could be an excellent way to focus minds on what really matters.
HAVE WE REACHED PEAK NIMBY?
This column wrote last week about the foolishness of complaining about noise from the Out 2 Lunch Festival at the Broadwater Parklands.
Let the young people – meaning teens to thirties – have their fun.
Little did we suspect that the grim hand of nimbyism would soon have even younger people in its sights – the loudmouthed ruffians of the zero to 10 age bracket.
At Southport, they had delicate ears.
In Rainbow Bay, there appear to be some very delicate eyes.
Apparently, the sight of a brightly coloured new playground is an abomination that must be stopped.
“It is loud, cheap, garish and has drastically changed the vibe,” one unhappy resident harrumphed.
Loud, cheap and garish? Are you kidding?
There is more than enough that is grey and beige in this world. Young children respond, instead, to what is bright, cheerful, and yes, colourful. To state the enormously obvious, that’s why playgrounds are designed that way.
Really, I’m lost for words that anyone could find it objectionable. There is no more wonderful sound than the happy laughter of young children at play, no situation that is not enhanced by it.
If this is what people now find objectionable, then good lord, we have seriously lost our way.
OUR GREATEST GEM
On a lighter note, there is a place on the Gold Coast that has always delivered at a reasonable price, and yes, consistently makes both young and old enormously happy.
It’s not a new thought, but Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary remains our greatest gem.
What is still relatively new is the Homestead venue within.
Your columnist was fortunate enough to dine there at the weekend with his family.
The food, service and price are as outstanding as everything else at the Sanctuary.
Kudos to the staff involved. If you haven’t tried it yet, you simply must.
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Originally published as Southport tent city: If council want to move it anywhere, take it to council land at Bundall
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