Rita Panahi: Aggressive beggars turning Melbourne from the world’s most liveable city into cesspit

WELCOME to Melbourne. Crime is rampant, aggressive beggars accost passers-by in the street and rough sleepers use illicit drugs in full view of startled tourists, writes Rita Panahi.

Homeless people camped in Flinders Street next to Flinders Street Station. Picture: Ian Currie

• ‘More like something you’d find in Delhi’
• 100m city homeless camp given scrub
• Calls grow to confiscate homeless tents
• City clean-out of homeless camps

WELCOME to Melbourne. Crime is rampant, the city’s most iconic building and main gateway is surrounded by a makeshift camp, aggressive beggars accost passers-by in the street and rough sleepers use illicit drugs in full view of startled tourists.

It’s not just international and interstate visitors who are aghast by what they see in Melbourne’s CBD.

Local traders, workers and residents are fed up with a problem that is turning parts of the world’s most liveable city into a third world cesspit.

The homeless camp outside Flinders Street Station is a national embarrassment.

Begging is not a new problem but it is one that is becoming considerably worse with an influx of beggars coming into Melbourne’s CBD, some of whom have set up rubbish-strewn camps.

Victoria Police and the state government have failed spectacularly in their efforts to address the problem.

If you dare drive your car over the 40km speed limit in Melbourne city or ride your bike without a helmet — or god forbid, jaywalk — then you can expect the police to issue you with a fine.

But you can set up a sleeping bag by the Yarra, beg and hassle pedestrians and use illicit drugs without worrying about police action.

Dan Andrews’ government loves quoting the massive amounts of taxpayer money it is pouring into the issue but can’t adequately articulate what we are getting for the $600 million investment.

Meanwhile, the Greens this week proposed that begging be decriminalised.

Even by the Greens’ harebrained standards, the proposal is diabolically dimwitted, reckless and sure to exacerbate the problem.

If you genuinely want to help beggars, some of whom are also homeless, then give to reputable charities that feed and house the disadvantaged.

Homeless people camped in Flinders Street next to Flinders Street Station. Picture: Ian Currie

There is no shortage of charitable organisations and government-funded agencies that assist the needy to find crisis and transitional housing as well as providing help for underlying issues, whether it is drug dependence, mental health or a myriad of other reasons why people find themselves on the streets.

It’s worth noting that many, if not all, of the rough sleepers in the Flinders St camp have been offered support and emergency or temporary housing.

We saw the same thing last year in Melbourne City Square where a group of rough sleepers set up a communal camp and refused offers of assistance including three months’ accommodation.

Authorities say that some of the regulars at the Flinders St camp are not homeless but enjoy “hanging out” at the location which is considered one of the more profitable begging spots in the city.

One of the Flinders St crew is said to have a home in Springvale, another has a home in Dandenong.

It beggars belief that despite warnings from welfare agencies and the Melbourne City Council there are bleeding hearts who are adding to the problem by giving beggars camping supplies.

Homeless on the streets of Melbourne. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has urged well meaning “do-gooders” to stop enabling beggars to make camps on the streets.

“Last week we carted away 130 kilos of rubbish from these camps,” he said.

“People give them tents, chairs, bedding that they (rough sleepers) leave behind and council workers have to clean up. Often the bedding has human faeces in it as well as needles.”

It’s time for this madness to stop.

We need a far more aggressive approach from authorities who must recognise that this is a problem causing significant distress and disruption to the city.

The damage to Melbourne’s reputation as a friendly and safe destination should not be underestimated.

Can you imagine paying an exorbitant amount to come to Melbourne during the Australian Open and being confronted by hostile beggars and piles of filthy bedding on the sidewalk?

American tourist Jack Fielding summed it up when he told the Herald Sun: “I’m from (Washington) DC, and I’ve never seen anything as bad as this. You can’t walk 250 metres without being hassled for money.

“It’s not a good look for Melbourne. It doesn’t look like the world’s most liveable city from what I’ve seen so far. More like something you would find in the backstreets of Delhi.”