Support for rent refugees
A GOLD Coast couple forced to live in a Kmart tent because they can’t find a rental have become unlikely stars of social media.
In a sign of the depth of the housing crisis, Jeanette and Peter McDonald’s daily struggles are being keenly followed by people who fear they will face the same fate and are eager to learn how the pair are managing to survive.
“We get a lot of messages from people saying they’re not going to be far behind us,” Ms McDonald said.
“They ask us how to camp, where to camp.
“So we put tips on our TikTok, so if you get stuck in this situation, here’s how you do it.”
The McDonalds, who are in their sixties, have been without a proper home since they were forced to leave a Gold Coast townhouse four months ago.
It was the latest in a series of cruel blows for the couple after Peter’s cleaning business was badly affected by border closures during the Covid-19 crisis.
“We were living with my sister in a townhouse but it changed body corporate,” Ms McDonald said.
“When the new one came in she said ‘too many people in the unit’.
“It was a three bedroom unit. She said only four people were allowed and there were six of us – us, my sister, her daughter and two babies.
“They said if two didn’t go they weren’t renewing the lease, so we decided we’d be the ones to do that.”
Ms McDonald said they were unable to leave the Gold Coast area because her husband Peter had part-time work there. They were currently staying at the Canungra Showgrounds, because its $26 nightly rate for an unpowered site was cheaper than found within the city.
But even that was only a temporary solution.
“They only give out two weeks at a time,” Ms McDonald said. “Then you have to be gone for two weeks before you can come back again. They don’t allow people to live here.
“There’s a bush camp down the road from here, but it doesn’t have a shower, it doesn’t have any kitchen facilities, it just has a toilet, that’s it. And it’s spooky, because it’s right out in the bush.”
The McDonalds have been chronicling their journey on TikTok with their ‘unintentional nomads’ account, amassing huge pageviews for videos showing them shivering through cold winter nights, coping with downpours and constantly being forced to pack up and move on.
One video even shows Peter being forced to abandon writing in his journal because possums keep pooping from a tree overhead.
Their story has elicited an outpouring of support from across the nation.
“You two are so inspirational. It’s absolutely heartbreaking that this is how you have to live. No one should have to live like this in Australia,” one person wrote.
As yet, however, the support has not translated into offers of somewhere better to live.
They have not applied for social housing, because they know the wait times are so long. “Probably wouldn’t be in our lifetime,” Ms McDonald said.
She added it was not a life the pair had ever imagined for themselves.
“We’ve always had good references, never lost a bond, never been late with rent. But we’ve just been priced out now,” she said.
“We never imagined it. Especially not at 62.
“We don’t drink, we don’t smoke, we don’t take drugs. We’re not like your traditional homeless pushing the trolley around. We’re just two normal everyday grandparents.”