Council agrees to close homeless camp after state threatens legal action
Wyllie Park was declared "illegal" by Economic Development Queensland. (612 ABC Brisbane: Kenji Sato)
In short:
The City of Moreton Bay has agreed to close a dedicated homeless camp.
Economic Development Queensland threatened to legal action over the "illegal" camp.
What's next?
Homeless campers will be evicted after their registrations expire in 21 days.
The City of Moreton Bay council has agreed to shut a homeless camp in response to threats of legal action by state authorities.
The council turned Wyllie Park in Petrie into a free, designated camping site for homeless people in August.
Today, the council tabled a letter from Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) in which the state body promised not to take legal action if the council agreed to its list of demands.
The demands include not allowing any more homeless people to register at the site, and to evict the current homeless campers once their registration expires after 21 days.
Julian Simmonds says he will only drop the show cause notice once the park was empty. (ABC News: Lexy Hamilton-Smith)
EDQ chief executive Julian Simmonds warned legal action would remain on the table until every homeless camper had been removed.
"At this point in time, I do not consider it appropriate to withdraw the Show Cause Notice," Mr Simmonds said.
"However I commit to doing so once Council confirms that the trial registrations have expired and Wyllie Park is vacant."
Wyllie Park was supposed to be a place where homeless people did not need to fear eviction. (Supplied: Beau Haywood)
After the homeless campers leave Wyllie Park, the council will be required to continue monitoring the site to ensure nobody else tries to camp there.
EDQ had issued a show cause notice to the council, calling the park "illegal" because it fell within the Moreton Bay Central Priority Development Area.
Wyllie Park lies barely within the Priority Development Area boundary, putting it within EDQ's remit.
Peter Flannery says the camp was created in good faith. (612 ABC Brisbane: Kenji Sato)
Moreton Bay mayor Peter Flannery said the council would comply with the state government direction.
"The fact is that we could spend millions of dollars of ratepayer funds fighting this show cause in court only to lose anyway," Cr Flannery said.
"Council allowed free camping for people experiencing homelessness at Wyllie Park in an attempt to provide a short-term solution to what is a state issue of chronic homelessness in City of Moreton Bay, particularly in high-traffic public areas like the Redcliffe foreshore.
"We backed Wyllie Park in good faith and believe it was successful in providing a safer solution for people experiencing homelessness who have no access to emergency or supportive shelter in City of Moreton Bay currently."
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