Moreton Bay rangers begin to tear down tents at a homeless encampment in a local park in April. Photograph: Paul Hilton/The GuardianView image in fullscreenMoreton Bay rangers begin to tear down tents at a homeless encampment in a local park in April. Photograph: Paul Hilton/The GuardianRemoving homeless encampment from local park breached human rights, Queensland supreme court rulesCity of Moreton Bay blocked from clearing tent city after successful legal challenge by group living in park
A council breached human rights by clearing homeless people from a park in Brisbane’s north, Queensland’s supreme court has ruled.
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.
Read moreJustice Paul Smith issued a judgment on Friday. He ruled that the removal of the park residents’ property was a breach of their human rights.
Many of the residents had already been moved on from another area at Eddie Highland Park, the court heard.
Brisbane city council and the City of Gold Coast have also implemented similar homeless clearances in the last year and a half.
