Helen Tagg tells MPs Nambour cannot wait for safety action

Helen Tagg: “For me, it’s not about whether you’re homeless or not, it’s about the behaviour."

Nambour Now advocacy group chair Helen Tagg has told a parliamentary hearing that families are withdrawing from public spaces, businesses are under strain and the town can no longer afford to wait for action on anti-social behaviour.

Appearing before the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee at Nambour RSL on March 30, Mrs Tagg gave a compelling submission on behalf of a community she said had been “extremely compassionate” but was now at breaking point.

“What we are seeing on the ground is a pattern of antisocial behaviour in our public spaces, particularly in our parks and in the CBD,” she said.

“This includes and is not limited to repeated drug use, fighting, intimidation, and situations where vulnerable people themselves are preyed upon.”

Mrs Tagg, who has a background in youth and community work, said the issue was not abstract for local families. “Many families, including my own family, are no longer using parks,” she said.

“Speaking as a mother of young children, it changes how I personally use my community spaces and how safe my children feel.”

She pointed to fires in public spaces, including the recent blaze that closed part of the barbecue area at Quota Park, and said the cycle of disorder was becoming entrenched.

“Right now, what we are seeing is a system that is broken and dysfunctional,” Mrs Tagg said.

“Police are unable to act until the situation has already escalated. And from our experience, this is not working for the community or for the people in these environments.”

Mrs Tagg said she supported stronger housing, healthcare and early intervention measures, but challenged decision-makers on what happens before those long-term reforms take effect.

“My concern is this. What do we do in the meantime?” she said.

“How do we respond to behaviour in the interim? How do we support the broader community? And how do we ensure our public spaces remain safe and usable for all?”

She said the proposed bill could help fill that gap, but warned enforcement alone was not enough and safeguards were essential.

“Antisocial behaviour needs to be clearly defined,” she said. “It cannot be left open to subjective interpretation or risk becoming a mechanism to move people on simply for being outside of social norms. We like our eccentrics here, and that is Nambour’s heart.”

One of her strongest points was that the debate had too often been wrongly framed as a choice between compassion and safety. “It’s not either, it’s both,” she said.

“People deserve to be supported and people deserve to feel safe. We don’t need to choose sides.”

Mrs Tagg also pushed back against suggestions the issue was simply about homelessness.

“For me, it’s not about whether you’re homeless or not, it’s about the behaviour,” she said.

“I don’t want to see vulnerable people being used as a shield for bad behaviour, and I feel that that has happened.”

She called for a genuine place-based plan for Nambour, bringing government, services and the community together, and said child-focused spaces should be a priority for any future safety precinct declaration.

“At the very least,” she said, “Quota Park, next to kids’ schools (should be protected)”.

In one of the hearing’s clearest messages, Mrs Tagg said the community had carried the burden long enough.

“We have been patient. We have been extremely compassionate, but we also need to be supported and cared for ourselves so that we can support others,” she said.

“Our community deserves to feel safe and right now that balance is not there.”