Tent city thrives in Premier’s electorate despite promised housing solution

A tent city in the Premier’s electorate is sprawling, but despite crisis accommodation being offered, some residents say they have no choice but to stay at the park. WATCH THE EXCLUSIVE VIDEO TO SEE WHY.

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A tent city in the Premier’s electorate is booming four weeks after Steven Miles promised to offer a roof over every Queenslander’s head.

It can be revealed that despite homelessness service providers attending the site in Rothwell multiple times, several people have refused to leave, while others found their crisis accommodation dangerous or impossible to live in for their families.

One woman returned to the tent city after being offered illicit drugs at the motel accommodation provided by government-funded support services.

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The tent city on the border of Mr Miles’s Murrumba electorate, is becoming one of the biggest in the state, as support services say the state’s homelessness crisis is the worst it has ever been.

There are just as many tents or even more than there were, since The Courier-Mail uncovered the site Mckillop Park at Rothwell in Moreton Bay in early March.

Homelessness services told The Courier the demand for crisis accommodation is so great that they are forced to hand out tents to assist those sleeping rough at Rothwell and other similar sites.

At the time Mr Miles made the promise to use crisis accommodation for all rough sleepers in Queensland, Joval Bennett and her five children were given a motel room after camping at the Rothwell park.

It was over 50 kilometres away from her children’s school with one queen bed and a single bed for six people, including her children.

Joval Bennett and her children are currently living next door to the Rothwell Community Centre. Rothwell Thursday 11th April 2024 Picture David Clark

She felt it was so unsafe and unsuitable that she moved back to the park.

“The airconditioning didn’t work, the TV didn’t work, obviously no cooking facilities … the first morning we get up, my kids go outside then come running back in like ‘mum, mum, mum there’s this lady out there beating up her boyfriend with a pole’,” she said.

“Right off the bat I don’t want my kids hanging out outside … hearing constant domestics arguments, police coming police going, just fights, I’m an ex-addict and I’ve been clean for six years. I got offered crack three times there from people that I don’t even know.”

Ms Bennett said she went “mentally downhill” after being in the motel for two weeks, separated her friends and support network and noticed a change in her children's behaviour.

She returned to the park for a month but in that time her pet kitten was killed and a tent destroyed in an arson attack.

This week she has been provided with a temporary house in Caboolture for her family for the next month.

In a statement last night, Mr Miles said specialist homelessness services would continue to visit the area and offer help.

“I am confident that our hardworking housing team is doing everything they can to provide those experiencing homelessnessand housing stress with appropriate accommodation,” he said. “I am assured by the Housing Department that appropriate, safeand tailored accommodation solutions have been offered to those sleeping rough at Rothwell Park.”

St Vincent De Paul’s chief executive Kevin Mercer has described the state’s homelessness crisis as the worst it has ever been and it wasn’t improving.

“Members are telling us they are constantly seeing more people, new people coming to see them all the time,” Mr Mercer said.

“It’s a very frustrating situation where you can’t help people with accommodation because there is no supply, so crisis accommodation services that we operate around the state are full.”

Mr Mercer said people have been staying in crisis accommodation for longer than they ever have.

Tent city at McKillop Park at Rothwell Wednesday April 17, 2024. Picture, John Gass

“There’s close to 3000 places across the state that we operate. They’re all full and they’ve been, seems like forever full, I can’t remember a time we had a vacancy,” Mr Mercer said.

“It really puts a lot of pressure on the system – if the crisis accommodation is full – then people who are in crisis don’t have a place to go that’s supportive.

Rochelle Sneddon, was living in a temporary home at Caboolture with her five children while their father, David Stephenson, stayed at the Rothwell tent city park with their dog.

Ms Sneddon, who is on maternity leave from a service role with Queensland Health, said she was forced to give up that house and moved with her kids to the park after her car broke down.

She said without a car, it would have been impossible to drop and pick up her children from school because the temporary home at Caboolture was 25 kilometres away.

Mr Stephensen said the couple were separated but were living together at the park to provide the best care they could for their children, including their six months old baby.

“We’re all here together trying to get shit sorted out … its getting a bit more positive they’re trying harder and harder and workers are here everyday,” he said.

He said the focus on crisis accommodation was an inefficient use of resources with no meaningful impact in addressing the crisis.

CEO of YFS, a Logan based housing support service, Christopher John praised government resources for emergency accommodation but stressed there were still challenges.

“It’s great to have that commitment, but the practicality of putting that into place in different regions where resources are constrained and to be able to provide that creates a bit of a challenge from time to time,” he said.

“But it is important that we find ways to better temporary accommodation, but also address longer term issue of stock and availability for people to have affordable, ongoing sustainable accommodation which we haven't scratched the surface on and it will be years.”

“I really think we need to be focusing on what are some of those other transitional opportunities for demountables or retrofitting other facilities that could provide temporary accommodation for a longer period.”

Originally published as Tent city thrives in Premier’s electorate despite promised housing solution