‘Crisis point’ meeting on homelessness

The meeting follows a tour by Mayor Rosanna Natoli, MP Marty Hunt, Minister Sam O’Connor and Cr David Law of the situation at Quota Park last week (August 12).

Nambour’s homelessness and public safety crisis has entered a new chapter, as community leaders, residents and government representatives gathered for an urgent closed-door forum on Tuesday afternoon (August 19) to tackle what Member for Nicklin Marty Hunt has called a “crisis point” in the heart of town.

The emergency meeting was called by Council to bring together Mr Hunt, Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli, Division 10 Councillor David Law, Housing Minister Sam O’Connor, local petition organiser Helen Tagg, along with key government and community stakeholders to discuss immediate and long-term responses to the dramatic surge in unmanaged camping in Nambour’s parks and streets.

The forum followed an August 12 site tour of Quota Park and other affected areas by the same leaders.

According to Mr Hunt, the visit gave the Minister and Mayor a firsthand view of the public safety issues and the strain on local services.

“The community has a right to feel safe,” he said, noting that homelessness in the town had tripled in recent months, with reports of more than 90 people now sleeping rough in public spaces.

Mr Hunt said the situation had escalated quickly due to a decade of significant underinvestment in social housing, combined with recent enforcement actions by neighbouring councils, which has led to more people experiencing homelessness moving into Nambour.

But he said increased patrols, outreach, and a $3 million police beat to open in Nambour CBD were positive steps in the right direction.

Petition Sparks Action

Much of the recent public momentum behind this week’s meeting has come from grassroots advocacy, spearheaded by a petition initiated by Nambour mother and former community worker and homeless person Helen Tagg, which has attracted about 1500 signatures and resulted in her detailed 19-page action plan submitted to leaders.