Mayor clarifies ‘homeless’ talk

THE Townsville Mayor has defended her criticism of agencies and organisations for not doing enough to stop vagrants plaguing parts of Aitkenvale.

Townsville City Council Mayor Jenny Hill yesterday reiterated her comments from a day earlier after a media report said she blamed charities providing food and laundry services to people for “enabling” them to “live a lifestyle” in public parks.

On Wednesday Cr Hill threatened to put certain agencies and organisations, which she would not name, on the “mat” for not responding to the issue. She said the agencies were responsible for community concerns and accused them of not doing enough.

“I never spoke about charities, I spoke about agencies, and I spoke about people who are not homeless, not people who are,” Cr Hill said.

“This is an issue around people who do have homes, who congregate in our parks, who behave in an anti-social way. The issue around people who are homeless, that is a separate issue altogether.”

Asked about Cr Hill’s comments yesterday, Townsville MP Scott Stewart said people were homeless for a range of reasons and as a community every person needed to be looked after.

“It’s all right for a mayor who probably lives in a great house and has a great job ... but we’ve got to look after everyone, and that’s what I’ll do, I’ll continue to look after everyone said.

The Townsville Bulletin has previously reported on the frustration of business owners and residents who are calling for action to address ongoing issues in Aitkenvale.

Cr Hill made her comments on Wednesday as the council signed off on a co-ordinated plan to make the community safer.

“The comments I made were about the fact that we do have people in our parks ... that are drinking, that are using drugs, that are threatening people because of their antisocial behaviour,” she said.

“We want our parks to be somewhere safe where people can go. We want our public open spaces to be somewhere safe where people can go. in my community,” he

“The issue around homelessness is a separate issue.

“We support the work that charities do in helping homeless people get into homes.

“But what we have here is people who do have homes, who frequent our public open space and act in ways that are not in accordance with good public behaviour.”

Cr Hill said the community needed support from agencies to get the “problem cleaned up and that’s not what’s happening”.

Cr Hill declined to name the parties she was referring to yesterday but referenced the area around Ross River Rd and Elizabeth St in Aitkenvale next to Stockland Shopping Centre.

The council set aside $13.3 million in funding for public safety in its recent budget.