Walking past the ugly truth

EACH day tens of thousands of people arriving in central Melbourne are confronted by an ugly reality.

People arriving at Flinders St station are confronted with an ugly reality of people sleeping rough. Picture: Nicole Garmston

EACH day tens of thousands of people arriving in central Melbourne are confronted by an ugly reality.

Outside Flinders St station, along Elizabeth St and the Yarra’s north bank, Melburnians and visitors are forced to pick their way past beggars, the homeless and their makeshift camps.

For the next fortnight Melbourne hosts its signature sporting event, the Australian Open, when the city gets a chance to showcase itself as the world’s “most liveable city”.

In today’s Herald Sun, the unpalatable images of reality on our streets are laid bare and mock that title. Rows of people lie in the heat; sleeping, drinking, taking drugs and urinating along our busiest streets and most popular walkways. It represents Melbourne’s shame writ large, a Third World-like crisis — damaging to both Melbourne’s image and to the homeless themselves.

Among those moving past two people beside the Yarra, collapsed after smoking what appeared to be drugs, are tourists and locals on their way to the tennis and wondering what has become of parts of this great city. Outside Flinders St station, a horde of unwashed rough sleepers is a shock to families exiting the trams and trains. But highlighting the crisis on our streets is not about humiliating our city’s growing population of homeless. And it is not about putting the sensitivities of jetsetting tennis tourists above the dignity of these people.

Victorians can do something about the homeless problem by not giving to beggars but instead donating to the Salvation Army and other groups who provide direct support services.

It is the Herald Sun’s job to shine a light on these confronting issues, particularly when authorities show a collective lack of effort and leadership. Pretending this squalid problem doesn’t exist — or sweeping it to different corners of the city — will not work. The surge of homelessness in central Melbourne, which began more than a year ago, is not only a blight on the city’s image and amenity, it is a personal tragedy for those people who sleep rough.

Today’s photos represent everything that is wrong with the current approach by Victoria Police, the City of Melbourne and the State Government to find comprehensive and lasting solutions to the crisis.

As revealed in today’s Herald Sun, council officers and some businesses are complaining of police inaction and lack of support. On the one hand, a zero tolerance approach should be taken — the law has to be imposed and people taking drugs, publicly intoxicated or begging — must be charged. Street campers must be evicted. Last year, politically correct commentators took issue with Herald Sun photos of a violently erratic man threatening people in Elizabeth St, arguing the paper invaded his privacy. What right do others have to threaten and intimidate the public? That individual ended up in court charged with a range of offences.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle says fixing the homeless problem is his key priority. It’s a complex issue of people in crisis facing genuine need, suffering mental illness or substance addiction. But there are also those who beg to supplement welfare and others who refuse to make use of the extensive emergency accommodation services because they can’t keep drinking or drug-taking while in their care. Victorians can do something about part of the problem: take the mayor’s advice to not give to beggars but instead donate to the Salvation Army and other groups who provide direct support services. Getting people off the streets, into accommodation, health services and work, and insisting laws are obeyed, is the only way to make a real difference to these lives and to reinvigorate Melbourne’s image

The loss of almost 600 direct and 2000 indirect jobs would have been devastating for Portland and the wider region. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

JOBS DEAL TRANSPARENCY

AN 11th-hour deal to save the Alcoa Portland smelter and up to 2600 jobs is all but signed and sealed.

The loss of almost 600 direct and 2000 indirect jobs would have been devastating for Portland and the wider region.

With other parts of country Victoria, including Hazelwood in Gippsland, due to feel the pain this year, saving the smelter was crucial.

But the cost of retention must also be carefully and clearly considered.

As we saw with the auto industry, simply throwing taxpayer subsidies at industries facing cost and competition pressure gives no guarantee of ongoing benefit or loyalty. Alcoa has enjoyed sweetheart deals on electricity subsidies since the Cain government. Those ended last year — after costing up to $100 million a year in public funds — and with Hazelwood beginning its closure in March, Alcoa was considering an exit.

Now, with state funds of about $200 million over four years on the table and an interest-free federal loan of up to $40 million, expectation is high that the wolf has been kept from the door. But these can’t be open-ended taxpayer commitments.

Companies like Alcoa, which accept public subsidies, have an obligation to not only commit to long-term operations but also to ongoing reforms to ensure competitive sustainability.

Any taxpayer subsidies must be fully transparent and companies receiving them must account for their necessity. There can’t be no-strings-attached gifts for industry to do the right thing by communities and their workforce. Victoria must be certain we are getting true value for money.