<
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-23/how-councils-coerce-homeless-people-into-eviction/106451918>
“When the City of Moreton Bay made homeless camping illegal on public land on
March 12 last year, it caused a domino effect across south-east Queensland.
On March 13, Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said they would
no longer be taking a "compassionate and flexible" approach to homeless camps.
"We saw reports that homeless encampments in Moreton Bay were closing down and
moving to Brisbane, and we won't allow that to happen," Cr Schrinner said.
In May, the Gold Coast City Council voted to abandon its welfare-first approach
and adopt a "compliance-led" strategy.
However, there are significant legal limitations on how councils can evict
homeless people from public land.
Queensland councils are not authorised to issue legally enforceable move-on
orders, with that power held solely by police.
But in practice, Queensland Police Service said it was unwilling to do so.
A QPS spokesperson told
612 ABC it had issued no move-on orders to homeless
people for Brisbane, Moreton Bay, or Gold Coast councils in 2025.
Yet all three of these councils have moved homeless people on, without a single
move-on order issued.
The
ABC repeatedly asked Brisbane City Council and the City of Moreton Bay
how they moved homeless people, given police were unwilling to issue move-on
orders.
Neither has given a clear answer, but a recent Supreme Court case against the
City of Moreton Bay has shed light on the process.
The court case has also exposed a second limitation: the
Human Rights Act.”
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
