A council breached human rights by clearing homeless people from a park in Brisbane’s north, Queensland’s supreme court has ruled, in what has been hailed as an “historic victory for the basic rights of Queenslanders”.
A group of 11 residents of Goodfellows Road, a park in Kallangur, challenged eviction notices issued against them by the City of Moreton Bay last year.
The council changed its local laws to ban homelessness in February. In April, it started evicting residents of several homeless shelters with the aid of police, council rangers, a bulldozer and an excavator.
Justice Paul Smith issued a judgment on Friday. He ruled that the removal of the Goodfellows Road residents’ property was a breach of their human rights and the council’s action in evicting them was unlawful.
“The council did not act in accordance with section 58(1) of the HRA [human rights act] in making the decision to issue the decision notices, and in making the decision to dispose of property,” he said.
“The applicants’ human rights were breached by the decisions.”
Moreton Bay council argued that the park residents’ property was removed by consent, though police accompanied council rangers conducting the clearances and occasionally threatened arrest.
Smith decided that consent was not given in some cases.
“When people are evicted from a public space, this perpetuates a lack of connection and exclusion from broader society. They can add to isolation and stigma and create fractures in society,” he said.
Sam Tracy, legal practice director at Basic Rights Queensland, which led the lawsuit said the decision was a “historic victory for the basic rights of Queenslanders”.
“The court has made it clear: local councils cannot ignore people’s human rights. Every council in Queensland must consider the human impact of their actions.
“Our clients out there weathering the storms today with meagre shelter are relieved that their rights, their dignity have been upheld in the court”.
Brisbane city council and the City of Gold Coast have also implemented similar homeless clearances in the last year and a half.
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