Wagga City Council has come out swinging at the NSW government over its role in ordering homeless people out of Wilks Park, accusing the state of abandoning discussions and putting vulnerable people at risk.
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The council has borne the brunt of community criticism and outrage after it last week delivered move-on notices to rough sleepers in the North Wagga park.
More than a dozen long-term campers were issued letters advising them they had 28 days to move out of the park - a threat the council now indicates it won't follow through on as it made explosive claims that the Department of Communities and Justice [DCJ] hasn't acknowledged its role in the saga and failed to help secure suitable alternative accommodation.
"The step of issuing notices to people staying in Wilks Park requiring them move on over the next 28 days was an action undertaken by council in close consultation with the NSW government," the council said in a statement.
"It was surprising and disappointing that the NSW government, and in particular the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), did not acknowledge this extensive consultation over recent weeks."
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As the regulator and manager of the land, the council was forced to act after receiving complaints from residents and local businesses, its community services director Janice Summerhayes said at the time.
"Council will continue to closely liaise with DCJ to ensure alternative accommodation options are provided through the relevant agencies," she said.
Those communications have since broken down, WWCC claimed in its statement issued on Tuesday morning, with the state government accused of leaving council "in a vacuum in relation to the options and the care", and no representatives from DCJ making themselves available for a councillor workshop on Monday night.
"Surprisingly, when asked to participate in the meeting and provide information to the council on exactly what it is that they are doing, DCJ failed to attend," the council said.
"The NSW state government is responsible for providing services and solutions to the people currently sleeping in Wilks Park. The NSW government is also responsible for their safety in the event of a flood given they are sleeping in a floodway. The NSW government is also responsible for the safety and welfare of all the people sleeping there and passing there for whatever reason people might fear for their safety."
A DCJ spokesperson told The Daily Advertiser last weekend it was working with local service providers to assist people sleeping rough to find alternative accommodation.
Charities that provide emergency assistance to Wagga's homeless say the eviction notice is hampering their efforts to provide care to the group, which is now living in limbo.
With tensions high, Anglicare child and family services Riverina coordinator Jasmine Woodland said she had been reluctant to send staff to provide services at the park.
"Emotions are high and people are frightened, so we don't want to be making it any worse by people having expectations that we might be able to change that for them," she said.
An outpouring of support will see a large campout at the North Wagga flats next weekend, in a show of solidarity by the community outraged at the blow dealt to the city's vulnerable residents.
However, the council has made it clear that unless the state comes to the party, it won't be enforcing the orders.
"If the silence and inaction of the NSW government continues, the council will in all likelihood take no further action to move people on from sleeping in Wilks Park, where they have no alternative," council said.
"Council does not intend to move people from where they are sleeping.
"This is not to say that council considers this to be the appropriate outcome. It is not. Council will not, however, accept responsibility for exposing members of the public to even harsher and uncertain living conditions. If that is the outcome which the NSW government chooses to deliver, then council will not be the enabler."
Wagga's St Vincent de Paul president Peter Burgess echoed Ms Woodland's sentiments, saying access to welfare benefits and the ability to apply for social housing were two ways to alleviate pressure but nothing will get better until the state invests in more social housing.
"If we are denying them things that the rest of society can access, what are we saying? That's not a society is it?" he said.
DCJ has been contacted for further comment.
More to come
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