Court blocks Moreton Bay evictions while Nambour takes up the slack

Queen Elizabeth II Court Houses Brisbane.

A recent ruling from the Queensland Supreme Court has delivered a temporary reprieve to homeless campers in Moreton Bay. But it was too late to prevent the knock-on effects being felt in Nambour, which faces growing pressure from displaced individuals.

Last fortnight, Justice Paul Smith issued an injunction preventing the City of Moreton Bay Council from evicting rough sleepers from a camp at Goodfellows Road, Kallangur. 

The court found the council had failed to adequately consider the human rights of those being displaced, especially the risk of having no viable alternative housing. 

Human rights groups, including Basic Rights Queensland, hailed the decision as a landmark win. They had argued that the council’s heavy-handed approach, involving bulldozers to clean up rubbish, violated vulnerable individuals’ rights.

The council argued it was acting on complaints about public health from residents. It said people camped at Goodfellows Road had been given several weeks to comply, which was adequate, while excavators removed only rubbish. Tents were checked for personal belongings which were not removed. 

City of Moreton Bay Council will now need to present its case in full later this year, with the injunction in place until the hearing in November. 

As neighbouring authorities take a tougher stance on homeless encampments, the Gazette understands that Nambour is seeing a disproportionate influx of individuals with complex needs – including addiction and criminal backgrounds – who have been displaced from other areas and may be resistant to support services.

The Gazette understands police have been gathering intelligence on individuals in encampments in Nambour, because of public safety concerns.

On the other hand, Moreton Bay’s legal challenges have forced a pause and reinvigorated calls for more empathetic management of homelessness.

For Nambour, as long-term plans advance, the town is calling for practical, short-term solutions – not just for those who have fallen through the cracks, but for the local students, families, pensioners, mothers, children and volunteers who share the spaces.

On social media Nambour mums report concerns about their children walking to school and of sharing public areas with addicts. Mums with babies say they are avoiding parks because of needles found in the grass. Council has told its workers and local Bushcare volunteers that it’s unsafe to continue their work in areas of the CBD because of threatening and abusive behaviour by some homeless people. 

In another recent incident a pensioner has written about being assaulted by a homeless woman in the CBD (Letters to the Editor, this edition).