Occupy Sydney not going away

The Occupy Sydney camp at the corner of Martin Place and Elizabeth St is here to stay despite the threat of eviction looming over the social movement.

This is the view of Lance Priestley, a stanch participant at Occupy who has resided at the camp since its formation in October 2011.

“If they evict us from here we’ll be set up and back doing this in an hour,” said Mr Priestley. “We’re sufficiently networked among the homeless now and we’re just not going away.”

The protest camp, covering a space approximately 35 square metres, has been feeding and providing sleeping gear to the homeless for almost a year. In recent months the group has extended their feeding time to 24 hours a day.

Liberal Councillor Christine Forster tabled a motion last month demanding City of Sydney Council dismantle the site so that Martin Place – about 13,500 square metres – could be “cleaned up” and “reclaimed for the enjoyment of residents and visitors”.

“I raised the motion about Occupy Sydney after I was made aware that City of Sydney Council had written to the protest group notifying them that they were in breach of the Local Government Act,” said Ms Forster.

“I was concerned because that notification was issued in May and yet there had been no action taken by Council to make good on the notification nearly a month later.”

Occupy Sydney was born out of the global economic downturn and campaigns to highlight corruption in the financial sector and economic inequality.

“Economy should only really exist for the benefit of society,” said Mr Priestley. “People should not exist for the benefit of the economy. We think the government has absolutely got it the wrong way round.”

Lord Mayor Clover Moore confirmed her opposition to the Occupy presence.

“I support the right of people to protest. And I support concerns about wealth disparity and growing poverty,” she said.

“The issue is not about a protest, it is about structures in Martin Place. The structures are inhibiting the City’s ability to clean the area and they are preventing the public from being able to use public space.”

Support agencies estimate that there are up to 350 rough sleepers in the city on any given night. Council aims to end long-term homelessness by 2017, but there is conjecture whether help is available to the homeless 24 hours a day.

“The police are starting to send people up here at night,” said Mr Priestley. “If people suddenly become homeless at night and don’t have resources, why doesn’t the government have somewhere for them to go?”

There is a broadening view that focusing on the core reasons for homelessness and bringing the homeless back into society is what is ultimately required.

An amendment to Council’s ruling made offers to house all homeless inhabitants. However, maintaining this may prove difficult considering Occupy estimate that 1,128 people require housing. The movement asserts that all rough sleepers of Sydney are occupiers.

A spokesperson for Council said it would only help provide access to support services for protesters that had been sleeping in Martin Place.

Council deems that Occupy Sydney’s camp structures are inhibiting the public from using the space.

“Occupy will be asked to remove these structures, and the City will request the assistance of police if required,” said a City of Sydney spokesperson.

Greens Councillor Irene Doutney said she would be “horrified if Council calls for a heavy-handed police response”.

“In the past when the police dismantled the site, they removed people’s laptops, the library and cooking utensils. This seizure of property and communal goods is unfair and has been costly for this unfunded group,” she said.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) believes that satisfactory arrangements could be made to allow health and public amenity measures to be addressed.

“Council is right to encourage Occupy to protest in a way that does not alienate the public, and using the protest to feed homeless people is perhaps one way to do this,” said Stephen Blanks, the NSWCCL Secretary.

The legality of Council’s notification to Occupy has been called into question.

“As required by the legislation, [Council] had to tell us what our remedy is and they didn’t do that,” said Mr Priestley. “They took upon themselves the right to call the police. It’s a civil matter and police don’t normally assist without a court order.”

“Councils aren’t really there to make arbitrary decisions about what’s right and wrong. Courts are there for that.”