Queen Victoria Building home to Sydney’s latest homeless enclave
The influx of rough-sleepers to the bustling up-market shopping precinct has begun to affect businesses. Fed-up retail staff say they’ve had enough.
The influx of rough-sleepers to the bustling up-market shopping precinct has begun to affect businesses. Fed-up retail staff say they’ve had enough.
A shop assistant at an Ugg Boot shop opposite the makeshift settlement said that the homeless people had been there for a number of weeks.
“I think they’ve been there for around a month,” she said.
A nearby shoe shop manager, who did not wish to be named, said that the “shantytown” was causing problems for nearby businesses.
“It’s really f*cking up businesses hard,” he said.
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“There are some really high-class places around here and nobody wants to walk past.
“First there was one of them and then there was like ten … it was practically overnight.
The store manager said that the homeless often wander into shop and dance around I’m the back of the store.
He also said that one man recently stripped to his underwear out the front.
A clerk at the EzyMart convenience store opposite the QVB said that the homeless people would occasionally steal food from the front counter.
Two homeless people were walking the footpath and asking for spare change outside the QVB at around 1.30pm on Tuesday.
Just after midday on Wednesday, four homeless people had returned to the site, despite being moved along by police just four hours earlier.
POLICE MOVE ON HOMELESS
A number of homeless people sleeping outside the QVB early this morning have been moved on by about 10 police officers, who arrived at the “shantytown” at around 7.35am.
The officers watched on as many of the rough-sleepers packed up their belongings. It is understood that City of Sydney Council staff also removed large items from the public site.
A few homeless people remained to watch on as the makeshift settlement was quickly disassembled.
Some returned to their original places as soon as police left the scene, lying down underneath the awnings of the QVB.
Jack Leafe, 32, remained this morning, sleeping on a makeshift bed on George Street.
He said council staff came early in the morning and confiscated many of their belongings, including his blue three-seater couch.
“I told them they’d better take it or I’m going to set it on fire,” he said.
Police arrived about half an hour later, but Mr Leafe said they did not really get involved.
“They didn’t do much, just made their presence known,” he said.
Mr Leafe said despite being moved on, he would be staying at the same spot outside Country Road on George Street, because he liked the architecture and the people that go by.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the government was dealing with homelessness as a “priority”.
“Providing a roof over the head is often the simple part — what is more difficult is making sure people have access to other services to deal with their complex needs whether it’s mental health challenges or whether it’s addictions,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said FACS workers had an outreach program that involved approaching homeless people on the streets to “ask them specifically what their challenges are”.
“Regrettably we know that when you’re homeless you normally have a whole range of other complex issues around that and we’re urging people to take up our offer not only to get a roof over their head … but also to accept the services that are provided to support them into the medium and long term,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We don’t want to see anybody homeless but at the same time we need to make sure we support those people to get those wrap around services.”
Ms Berejiklian said “nobody in NSW should be homeless”.
“We have more housing than ever before for social housing clients, we make sure we have those programs available but we also know that often homelessness comes with other complex issues and we need to make sure we’re supporting people to deal with those complex issues.”
HOMELESS HIT SHOPPING MECCA
Today, The Daily Telegraph revealed homeless people were turning the nation’s premier shopping strip — George St Sydney’s CBD — into a “shantytown” after setting up a rubbish-strewn camp with sofas and mattresses in front of high-end boutique stores.
Despite thousands of shoppers and workers passing the eyesore every day, the City of Sydney has failed to dismantle it, although retailers reporting growing anti-social behaviour and “scammers” targeting the public. The NSW government admits many of the “homeless” people congregating outside the iconic Queen Victoria Building actually have public housing homes or have knocked back offers of permanent homes.
Instead many have set up home amid a dilapidated collection of lounges, mattresses, pallets, rubbish and crates dragged to the front of the QVB which is a magnet for shoppers looking for up-market fashion, shoes, jewellery and high tea.
Store operators fear the situation is threatening to turn into a farce as with the Martin Place tent city showdown of 2017, with the City of Sydney and state government blaming each other for the crisis.
Last night a council spokeswoman said “homelessness is the responsibility of the state government”.
“They are responsible for supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness,” she said.
“The City of Sydney does not have any authority to move people on. Any complaints about violence or anti-social behaviour are a matter for NSW Police.”
According to some of the homeless — including Jack Leafe who has set up his sofa outside QVB’s Country Road store — the camp is in a great spot because a lot of shoppers means more donations and “chilling” outdoors is “easy and enjoyable”.
But QVB Metropole cafe owner Nicholas Kalis said while he had compassion for the homeless, some were “scammers”.
“I do know some do it for a profession,” he said. “There’s one guy that comes in he does it because he makes a lot of money, he makes at least a couple hundred bucks a day.”
The Daily Telegraph does not suggest Mr Leafe is such a scammer.
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At least four complaints in recent days have been logged with the council about the behaviour at the camp.
Adding to the problem are fears for the safety of shoppers — with Daily Telegraph photographer John Grainger ambushed and attacked on Tuesday by several men.
Mr Grainger was placed in a headlock by one of the men, who objected to pictures being taken of the furniture, and was verbally abused by another hiding behind a black face mask.
Reporting the incident to police, he said he was “shocked” and “intimidated” by the aggressive men.
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the incident was now being investigated. She said the issue of moving on the homeless camp was “up to the City of Sydney Council, it’s not our responsibility”.
Mr Kalis said he had been forced to step in to protect his customers at his cafe on several occasions from one particular homeless man.
“Sometimes he will come in agitated and smash the table. I then sit with him and say if you’re having a bad day go for a walk, but don’t do it in here. He knows the rules; he’ll get up and go away.”
Social Housing Minister Pru Goward’s spokesman said Family and Community Services housing staff “had been engaging with some homeless people outside the QVB building, including this morning”.
“Some of the people there are in public housing,” the spokesman said.
“Others are in temporary accommodation provided by FACS while we work with them towards permanent housing — others have declined assistance. A small number of people who have permanent housing spend some time on the streets during the day and occasionally at night, and many ask for money.
“We are providing them with support services to help them adjust to having a permanent home.”
Opposition homelessness spokeswoman Tania Mihailuk said the state government “had swept the issue under the carpet” since the Martin Place blow-up.
George St couch surfer Mr Leafe, 32, originally from Coonabarabran, turned to the streets after a relationship breakdown and the death of his mother. He takes his own blue three-seater lounge with him wherever he decides to set up — which this week has been outside the QVB near the Market St end.
He doesn’t want to leave and said being homeless was “easy and enjoyable”.
“I got to the street and liked it,” Mr Leafe said.
“Just chilling out, watching people go by. Meeting people in the same situation. You never go hungry around here. Everyone’s nice, you get your three meals a day.
“I speak to the council a fair bit and they do the right thing, try to get me into housing but it’s the right type of weather, I’ve got no friggin’ responsibilities or anything so what’s the point?
“I don’t think there should be any restrictions. The council should feel proud that people can sleep here and feel comfortable and be safe in our home environment.”
According to a NSW Family and Community Services insider, many of the supposed “beggars” congregating around the city with signs saying they are homeless live in public housing and are “looking to turn a buck”.
“We’ve noticed quite a few are out in the city at the moment,” the departmental source said. “Our outreach teams are trying to work with them to establish a rapport and get them to stay in their housing. The majority who are begging actually have properties.”
Sydney psychiatrist and researcher Dr Carlos d’Abrera said an “ideology” promoted by the “homelessness industry” blamed housing costs and economic issues instead of concentrating on people with mental illness and drug and alcohol issues
He has called for a “non opt-out” assessment process where rough sleepers have to comply with ambulance, police and outreach teams to undergo mental health and physical health assessments”.
More mandatory drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatments were needed as well as more mental health support for people in public housing, “which is voluntary at the moment but should be mandatory for those individuals”, Dr d’Abrera said.
“I think we are not being assertive enough in our assessment and management of rough sleepers because of an ideology that places their right to sleep rough above other concerns.”
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