Council
29 July, 2025
Beds, blame and backlash
MORETON Bay Council has announced a series of multimillion-dollar initiatives to assist the city’s growing homelessness crisis amid court battles over its handling of rough sleepers.
Mayor Peter Flannery this week opened the $6.7 million Peninsula Support Hub in Redcliffe, while also announcing the start of construction for an affordable housing complex for older women at Mango Hill.
Council invested $3.7m into the Hub with the state government pitching in $3m. But the initiatives comes in the shadow of legal action in the Supreme Court, alleging Council broke Human Rights laws by making it illegal for anyone to camp on Council land.
The court action, brought by two charities and human rights lawyers, also alleges that compliance notices and impounding of possessions were improperly made.
According to Cr Flannery, the number one problem making the issue of rough sleepers so difficult was the lack of crisis accommodation, with Moreton Bay only having 84 crisis accommodation beds available.
These are state-funded emergency accommodations to ensure those without a home have somewhere to sleep and are connected with social housing and outreach services.
Cr Flannery maintained that “sleeping rough in a park is not the answer” and called on the State Government to address the lack of beds.
Cr Flannery pushed for the crisis accommodation at the inaugural SEQ local government subcommittee meeting of the Homelessness Ministerial Advisory Council (HMAC) on July 22.
“Everyone deserves safe, secure accommodation,” he said. “We need the State Government to build more crisis accommodation in Moreton Bay, and we need it now. Homelessness is a visible and complex challenge. Our community cares about this issue, and so do we. Council is committed to community safety, and we are working with frontline services, housing providers, and all levels of government to deliver immediate and practical support.”
Nourish Street, one of the charities taking Council to court, has called the Mayor’s statements hypocritical, claiming Council’s actions “say otherwise”.
“You say everyone deserves safe, secure accommodation, yet you’ve issued move-on orders, evicted people from unused public land, and threatened fines to charities like ours for providing tents and support when the government refused to act,” Nourish Street wrote in a statement. “You say ‘we need more crisis accommodation’ but instead of using your influence to open disused facilities, fund local support groups, or collaborate with lived-experience-led organisations already doing the work, you continue to push people out of sight, out of mind.”
The charity said having 84 crisis beds in a region of nearly 500,000 was “not a statistic but a failure of leadership”.
“You want applause for asking the state to fix it? If you were serious about addressing homelessness, you’d stop evicting people with nowhere to go and acknowledge your own role in the crisis,” the charity wrote.
The sub-committee included Minister for Housing and Public Works, Sam O’Connor, 11 other SEQ Councils, Council of Mayors (CoMSEQ) and Q-Shelter, and was aimed at solving the region’s homelessness challenges.
They discussed initiatives including increasing the availability of crisis accommodation as well as the removal of red tape and better coordination between government and service providers.
New support facilities
The newly opened Peninsula Support Hub in Redcliffe, comprising of The Breakfast Club and The Salvation Army, will offer case management, housing referrals, meal services, laundry and shower facilities, and social connection for vulnerable people.
Cr Flannery said Council had spent “millions” supporting people experiencing homelessness by funding the facility, waiving development fees and infrastructure charges in 15 suburbs for affordable and social housing. He added that Council had also provided land to housing providers.
“We’re delivering long-term sustainable solutions to provide a safe space for people at risk of becoming homeless to receive support,” he said. “We’re proud to work hand in hand with the State Government and tenants to make warm meals, laundry facilities, connection to specialist health and housing assistance available to those in who need it most.”
Cr Flannery added that they were “picking up the heavy lifting” by providing a peppercorn lease of $1 a year to The Breakfast Club and The Salvation Army. “(This allows them to) focus on supporting our community’s most vulnerable instead of stressing about how to keep the doors open,” he said.
Member for Redcliffe Kerri-Anne Dooley said the hub will have a meaningful impact on locals doing it tough.
“The opening of the Peninsula Support Hub is a long-awaited and much needed milestone for Redcliffe and City of Moreton Bay,” she said. “This hub means people in crisis won’t have to travel far or face complicated systems to get support, they’ll be able to access meals, housing referrals, case management and more, all under the one roof.”
On July 22, Council also announced construction began on a major affordable housing complex for older women at Mango Hill, as part of an initiative to address homelessness and housing affordability concerns.
The State Government is partnering with community housing provider Y-Care to deliver the project, with Council waiving $700,000 worth of infrastructure charges and development fees.
The project is set to deliver 47 affordable units for women aged over 55 from the social housing register and will include dedicated community spaces and on-site support services.
Minister for Housing and Public Works, Sam O’Connor, said the State was “ramping up” social and affordable housing construction to ease the crisis in Moreton.
“This complex at Mango Hill is a great example of how we are working with community housing providers to deliver more homes in the right locations,” he said. “This will mean safe, secure and affordable homes with on-site support for older women, who are one of our most vulnerable groups when it comes to homelessness.”
The Peninsula Support Hub will officially open for services on July 28, with The Salvation Army commencing operations soon from 9am–5pm Monday to Friday, and The Breakfast Club operating Monday, Wednesday & Friday 7am to 8am, Tuesday & Thursday 9am to 1pm & 4pm to 5:30pm.
A social and affordable housing complex is also currently under construction at Redcliffe, while a First Nations-led social housing project is also underway at Deception Bay.
