News
9 September, 2025
Moreton Bay stands firm on rough sleeper policies
MORETON Bay Council has doubled down on its contentious moves to evict rough sleepers from local parks, defending its role as “upholding the safety and wellbeing of the community”.
Council issued a statement from Mayor Peter Flannery last week saying “our community has requested council correct the public record” about local laws and engagement with the homeless. He said Council wants to “collaborate” more with the community.
In a video posted online Mayor Flannery used examples of used needles and garbage strewn across public spaces to argue that intervention was required. He said, while the issue was controversial, the majority of constituents were supportive of Council’s decisions.
“Public places are not fit for habitation and the keeping of animals,” he said. “Our homeless community must be provided with alternate accommodation that does not include parks, foreshores, car parks, footpaths and sports reserves. These areas have a designated purpose for the entire community.”
The response comes as Council faces allegations of violating human rights laws with its homelessness policies, with a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for November.
Council has repeatedly defended its strategies, including making it illegal for anyone to camp on Council grounds and issuing move-on notices to those found sleeping rough. In the 2024/25 financial year, Council recorded 226 near-miss assault or injury incidents involving people experiencing homelessness. A near miss is defined as an unplanned, unwanted event that could have caused injury, illness, or damage to equipment or the environment.
Any verbal aggression directed at Council team members, such as threats, would fall into that category. Council previously reported assaults on staff had doubled between 2023 and 2024, from 31 critical incidents to 70. However, it declined to provide details on how many individuals were involved, the locations, or whether incidents were recurring. No information was given on specific injuries or whether the public was involved.
From December 12, 2024, to early September, Council issued 229 compliance notices to people experiencing homelessness. No fines have been issued. A recent Supreme Court injunction was granted to 11 people camping at Goodfellows Road after Council claimed nine had allegedly been offered and declined temporary accommodation, with some said to have exited housing due to behaviour. Two others allegedly lacked identification and declined offers of support to obtain ID.
Beau Haywood, President of Nourish Street — one of the charities challenging Council in the Supreme Court — said their experience contradicts Council’s claims.
“Every week Nourish Street and Northwest Community Group speak directly with hundreds of residents, both housed and unhoused, across Pine Rivers, Redcliffe, Kallangur, Sandgate and Brisbane,” he said. “What we hear is frustration. A strong feeling that Council has its own agenda, one that puts politics and image ahead of fairness and human rights.”
Mr Haywood also criticised Council’s spending priorities, saying millions were being wasted. Council has allocated more than $6m in 2024/25 to support people experiencing homelessness and address related issues, including over $1.4m directed to workplace safety and public health measures.
“Imagine what $1.4m could have achieved if it had been used in compassionate and innovative ways,” Mr Haywood said.
