Disturbing sight in Brisbane park amid ‘housing emergency’

A Brisbane resident riding their bike through a picturesque park in the CBD has shared footage of their trip. What they discovered has left Aussies angry and heartbroken.

Concerning footage has shone a light on the country’s spiralling housing crisis, with droves of Aussies forced to take to the streets and live in a makeshift ‘tent city’ in a Brisbane park.

In a video shared to Reddit this week, a Brisbane resident captured the clusters of colourful tents that have popped up in the inner-city suburb of West End.

The video shows several groups of tents huddled together under trees and perched along the Brisbane River near William Jolly bridge.

“This is what it looks like along the river path in South Brisbane/West End these days,” they wrote in the post.

“Seems like a safe place to go for people to go that haven’t been able to get approved for housing … I hope the housing and rental market improves soon.”

Speaking to news.com.au, the resident, who rides through the area daily, said they’ve noticed more tents appearing in the suburb in the last year.

Pointing to the country’s rental crisis, they said they could see themselves or others they know living under similar circumstances if their landlords “drastically increased rent to grow profits”.

“It made me think that we would live there in our tent if we had to and were left to fend for ourselves until we got approval for a new place to live,” they said.

The video showed several groups of tents in a park along Brisbane River. Picture: Reddit@FrogsPlusDucks

Many of the tents were huddled in groups under trees for shelter. Picture: Reddit@FrogsPlusDucks

Others were quick to express their shock and anger over the ongoing housing issues in the comments.

“We have homeless people down here in Melb too, but I’ve never seen an actual tent city like that before,” one person commented.

“Why are we pouring billions into the Olympics when we have serious issues to deal with,” said another.

“I’ve seen tent cities in Los Angeles and Washington, I didn’t ever think I would see a similar situation in Australia. What have we become?” questioned another.

Paul Slater, founder of Northwest Community Group, said there’s been a “sharp increase” in the number of tents in the city, including nearby Musgrave Park, over the past two months as more people are squeezed out of the rental market and grapple with the cost-of-living.

“When I started [the community group] in April this year, the most tents I saw were 18 to 19 in Musgrave Park. But now there are 35 plus,” he told news.com.au.

Mr Slater, who supports and distributes supplies to people experiencing homelessness, said those living in tents are of all ages and come from all walks of life.

Just recently, he supplied a tent to an 18-year-old French backpacker who couldn’t find work, and helped relocate a pair of 50-year-old women to Musgrave Park where they could be around others.

“A lot of these people are just out on their luck. They’re not necessarily people who abuse substances or people that have mental health issues. Some of them are just people who missed their rent payment and were couch surfing for a couple of months.

“They can only count on the goodwill of their friends for so long and that’s when they find themselves on the street.”

He said the increase in tents around the city is indicative of the country’s wider “housing emergency”.

“It’s one of the biggest emergencies. There’s no emergency accommodation available. If you want to call the homeless hotline today, they will tell you that there’s nothing available in the whole of Queensland.”

“Even if you can get into a boarding houses they are really unsafe environments for people.”

Mr Slater helps support and distribute supplies to people experiencing homelessness. Picture: Supplied/Paul Slater

Those who turn to living on the street are also left ”constantly looking over their shoulders” in fear they may be directed to leave by Brisbane City Council.

“They are worried about the council, obviously the council doesn’t like people living in tents. But they know at the moment that the people just don’t have a choice.”

One of many currently sleeping rough at the moment is Queensland man David, who has been living in a small, leaky tent on the side of a Brisbane motorway for two months, after moving to the city from regional Queensland in search of work and a roof to put over his head.

David told 9News he “never thought” he would be forced into this situation.

He said although it is “harder” than having a home, “it is somewhere safe”.

Queensland man David has been living in a small, leaky tent near a Brisbane motorway for two months. Picture: 9News

David originally moved to the city in search of a job and affordable housing Picture: 9News

It comes after damning new data from National Shelter and SGS Economics and Planning shows property affordability has plummeted across Australia in the last 12 months.

Every capital city, except Canberra and Hobart, is less affordable than it was a year ago – and renters are worse off than they were in 2019 – according to the latest Rental Affordability Index.

Regional Queensland is now the least affordable place in Australia to rent, the Index shows, with renters spending 30 per cent of their income on rent – the standard threshold for rental stress.

Mr Slater said state and federal governments desperately need to provide affordable housing options, such as the Pinkenba quarantine facility which the Queensland government will convert into emergency accommodation as part of a $10 million commitment.

“They need to fund affordable housing urgently. There is no affordable housing, there’s no social housing.

“I think Pinkenba is a good stopgap to try and look after a lot of people that are struggling right now. But there needs to be long term solutions.”

Northwest Community Group have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to provide essential items for those in need.