We are living through the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression. There are now over 20,000 Queenslanders experiencing homelessness which means that 1 in 200 people in our state are currently unhoused.
Successive Liberal National Party and Labor Party Governments at all levels have failed to ensure everyone has access to safe and secure affordable housing. While the responsibility for creating the current housing crisis sits squarely with the government, it is the people left unhoused who bear the brunt of the pain.
With nowhere else to go, many people have been forced to sleep rough in our parks. These people are our neighbours and we should be doing everything in our power to support them through what for many will be one of the most difficult periods of their lives.
On Tuesday 22 October, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner cut power to both Musgrave Park and Kurilpa Point Park. This callous act denied people sleeping rough the ability to cook food on BBQs or charge their phones - possibly leading to missed calls with offers of housing from the Department of Housing.
Support services and community groups who work closely with people sleeping rough have also been unable to provide their usual services. These front line workers contribute the most to public and community safety. Removing power access prevents them from doing their jobs and keeping our community safe.
The removal of power has already made our parks less safe for all community members. Rough sleepers are now resorting to potentially much more dangerous gas based equipment to enable them to cook meals, the most basic of human rights. I’ve already been told that a gas canister has exploded.
We need your help to pressure the Lord Mayor into restoring power to Musgrave Park and Kurilpa Point Park so that service providers can continue their lifesaving work.