Local police say they’ll continue to work with the Tweed Shire Council to reduce anti-social behaviour after a two-day blitz last week that included campers told to move on.
Officers say they worked with council rangers to move on fifteen groups for illegal camping and/or parking, including the removal of four tents from parkland areas, and recovery of two abandoned vehicles.
Police also issued eight fines and say they found and arrested a 46-year-old man in relation to an alleged incident at a Tweed Heads licensed premises on Sunday 31 March 2024.
The incident at the the Wharf Street venue is said to have featured vehicle damage and verbal abuse of patrons.
Officers arrested the man on Tuesday 16 April after last week’s two-day operation started on Monday 15 April.
The operation’s second day happened Saturday 20 April, with police and council rangers carrying out high-visibility foot patrols through local shopping centres, public spaces, parks and foreshore areas.
The accused man was charged with destroying or damaging property; common assault; using offensive language in/near public place; possession of a prohibited drug; and hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty.
He has received strict conditional bail and is due to appear before Tweed Heads Local Court on Monday 27 May 2024.
This is the endpoint of the accommodation crisis in our area. People camp in parks because they have nowhere to live. Gosh, there’s a revelation.
The article reads like a precis of a police presser, couched in the ubiquitous ‘public safety’ jargon then focussing on a single vaguely criminal bloke who somehow, by extrapolation, is like every other homeless camper in the world.
How do police and council rangers pick these ‘illegal campers’? Move on because you’re poor or homeless or have an underlying mental illness?
There’s no easy answer but as usual the most vulnerable are caught up in the fray.
Put a few of them up in your driveway
Become homeless for a while smart arse.
My thoughts exactly. Throw in the bad man to justify kicking homeless people while they are down.
Well said Pat
Its ridiculous that ,with housing crisis the way it is. Accommodation is that expensive, without remorse, it seems cars become peoples homes, in a way to be able to eat and EXIST in this life. Its way wrong.
They need an area with toilets and showers for the homeless, code to shops and transport and schools
I’m a Tweed Heads local, part of five generations. I’ll say now that these people who have been moved on, need to be moved on. These aren’t struggling families or couples, single parents or even parents. These are mostly single, young to middle aged men. Or most in vans are Brazilians or Europeans who are living it up in a prime beach front car park.
Some people need a hand up not a hand out.
People are struggling Australia needs reform and set up caravan parks to accomodate the disadvantaged.
People need to show why they need support around accommodation.
This only shows how the Australian communities support each other invoices of need.
Please pray and seek God.
This is nasty , where are these homeless meant to go?
I take in homeless people occasionally.
Cruel council , why not provide a free long term “camping area “ providing toilets showers etc and then… DADA
Build some new homes and fund mental health programs.
Charity begins at home , not million and millions overseas, I’m not saying stop funding out of country programs , I’m only saying lessen it for a few years and build our country back up or we’ll (Australians) will be the ones other countries sends funding too ..
The ONLY time you should look down on someone is when you’re giving someone a hand up from the floor .
Get real grubberment and house your citizens
The trick is to not be noticed and not stay in one place. The smartest strategy is to team up as a group and use a front company to lease some commercially zoned land in the middle of nowhere and set up an encampment and simply breach planning legislation. Drag the situation out all the way to the Land and Environment Court. If you are not on council land the system is piss weak. Just stay in possession and pay the rent and even if the owner wants all the people out it is miserable and protracted proceedings in the Supreme Court. The other strategy is to simply take possession as a squatter. You would be surprised at the amount of morons that leave vacant properties exposed – so take one. Do not fight the system, work the system.
Organize a paddock some toilets give them the tools to mow grass and build amenities. Instead of moving them in give them a paddock to fence in. Added by council workers to help them. Get them off the parklands.
How about we introduce a tax on religious franchises that are sucking billions from their “Flocks of sheep” and use that money to help the poor and homeless. After all isn’t that what they’re really supposed to be doing to qualify for that tax free status? Instead of them using their money to branch stack and control extreme right political party preselections!
And what about a coal mining billionaires tax, instead of them using their petty cash, to constantly manipulate our media and extreme right political party’s to mine their toxic coal? How much will they waste at the next election, another $100 million from their untaxed Singapore tax haven petty cash?
Would it really matter if these Singapore tax haven billionaire coal mining and multi nation church religious franchises had a billion less than the hundreds of billions they hoard like sociopaths while society crumbles around us?
There appears to be confusion between “Homeless” and Backpackers with a van.
The Backpackers are doing it cheaply and should be moved on in many circumstances.
The first problem is correct identification.
Yeah homeless is mostly caused by air b and bs there are so many empty air b and bs up and down the coast that should be long term rentals that would help eliviate 90 percent of homelessness . Those taking a vacation on the cheap of course should have designated places with a gold coin donation to use amenities and such but these areas should not be beachfront carparks .
Jimie is right. A little bit of knowledge is dangerous. The article does not say the people ‘moved on’ were genuinely homeless people as in people with just a sleeping bag. Pat seems to have interpreted the article in a way that supports some pretty invalid conclusions.