It’s time for tough love
ITINERANT crime — often from interstate — is clogging Cairns courts, frustrating residents and driving aid workers to despair.
Wuchopperen Health Service’s Charlie Adams said many of those sleeping rough in the region were from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and even as far afield as the Northern Territory.
“Historically it is unheard of — people are going to Atherton from NT to drink alcohol,” Mr Adams said.
“Many from down south have burned bridges there and made their way north for a sea change.
“Some from the Cape have committed crimes and are not welcome back.”
He said tough love might be in order.
“I am all for an allowance where a percentage goes toward existing homelessness and entering housing, like a bond or start-up costs,” he said.
One CBD tenant, who asked to stay anonymous, said a nightly routine had left trash strewn in front of businesses each morning.
“The typical mess generat- ed almost every night … by these people whose anti-social behaviour, swearing and fighting keep us awake almost every night,” the tenant said.
He said representations made to council, the State Government and police had yielded little results.
The office of Member for Cairns Michael Healy generally refers these matters to police.
Two matters before Cairns Magistrates Court this week were typical of the drunken street crime facing police.
One — Phillip Jack Sagigi, spent nearly two months in the overcrowded Lotus Glen Correctional Facility for sexually assaulting a woman at Smithfield Shopping Centre in October.
Sagigi, who has a history of assaults and indecent assaults, grabbed a woman’s breast as she walked past.
He was also convicted of begging and public nuisance as he accosted customers in a Sheridan Street shop.