REDLAND City mayor Karen Williams has called for an urgent meeting with Housing Minister Mick de Brenni to discuss a 24-hour response to help homeless people in the Redlands.
Mr de Brenni, meanwhile, has called on federal MP Andrew Laming and Prime Minister Scott Morrison to support state efforts to reduce homelessness and make housing more affordable.
It comes after about eight homeless people moved out of tents in a Capalaba industrial area.
A council spokesperson said the site had been vacated after council gave the group an extension to find alternative accommodation.
“Council has been working with the Redlands Community Centre to clean up the site and support the people however we can,” the spokesperson said.
It is understood that six people moved to sleep under a building in the Redlands.
Cr Williams said she had asked Mr de Brenni on Friday – following a discussion the previous week – for an urgent meeting with organisations.
“The thought of people being homeless at any time is heart-wrenching but particularly in the lead up to Christmas,” Cr Williams said.
“...the Redlands community has been very successful in working with council to raise money and awareness for those impacted by domestic and family violence in our city.
“With the passion of the Redlands Coast community, I believe a similar approach to tackling homelessness in our community is possible and I look forward to meeting with the minister to discuss this approach.”
Mr de Brenni said Mr Laming and Mr Morrison had refused to address unfair tax breaks that locked families out of home ownership and had cancelled the National Rental Affordability Scheme.
“...(They) have no plan for housing despite a federal election looming,” Mr de Brenni said.
He said a $1.6 billion cut from remote housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities had a flow on effect for housing across the state, including the Redlands.
Mr de Brenni said the state government had built 183 social homes in Logan and Redlands as part of a $1.6 billion Queensland Housing Strategy and was working with housing providers to provide $2 billion of social and affordable housing to bridge the gap between public housing and home ownership.
Mr Laming said the federal government gave money to Queensland’s housing and homelessness services that were delivered by the state.
“I expect that any Australian living in a tent who seeks emergency accommodation has a right to it, without government bickering,” Mr Laming said.
“My job is to bring three levels of government together, to ensure that anyone sleeping rough in Redlands has their circumstances assessed and services offered as soon as physically possible.
“It was obvious to everyone that these referrals were not happening and the camps were becoming permanent.
“That is why I stepped in.”
Mr Laming said he had received a complaint about people living in the tents in the nature reserve.
Asked what he had done to bring government representatives together, Mr Laming said he had made four requests to an organisation working with homeless people to invite council and the state government to meet with the organisation.