Stay of eviction for Pav homeless

The Supreme Court has given the group of homeless men sheltering behind the Bondi Pavilion an extra three weeks to find a home but Waverley Council this week removed their bedding.

On June 26, Justice Slattery called a three-week adjournment on the eviction notice Waverley Council had served the group on June 16. The notice had asked them to remove their belongings from the back of the building due to “regular maintenance and cleansing of the area”.

The court granted an injunction on Tuesday 23, preventing police and Waverley Council officers from ‘moving on’ the group who had sought orders from the court to require the council find them alternative, long-term accommodation before removing them.

Some members of this group have been ‘in residence’ on that spot for eight years and now can’t be evicted until the court case concludes. An agreement on mediation now seems the only solution after council removed the bedding used by the homeless men.

Group spokesman Kevin St Adler said there was a lack of affordable, low-cost housing in the area. He criticised a council plan to erect a hired cyclone fence to keep people out at a cost of $30,000.

“The cost of fencing to keep us out would be enough to house us all for a year,” St Adler said, adding that efforts had been made to work things out with the council.

“There have been no offers of permanent housing by council; we already have emergency accommodation. This is one of the few places to go in winter that has adequate cover. It’s a different story when it’s warmer.”

He said the group had community support with one family donating a new toaster and a doona.

“Another gave us $50 each. They congratulated us on our efforts. This is the true sense of community,” he said.

The group’s barrister, Dymphna Hawkins, said: “These people have mental health issues, one is a wheelchair-bound veteran, and all are facing an uncertain future because of a council that appears more concerned with the appearance of its precious pavilion than the inhumanity of exposing vulnerable people to the freezing conditions of winter.”

But Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said the council was concerned about the welfare of the homeless men.

“We are working with a number of agencies including the Department of Housing, Mission Australia and Norman Andrews House to find them safe, clean and warm accommodation,” the mayor said.

“We have no intention of throwing them out to live in a bus shelter. We’re working really hard to find places that are acceptable to them.”

She said one man had already accepted a house and another had accepted accommodation.

But Cr Betts said the group could not be left at the Pavilion.

“There have been reports of health and sanitary issues, vandalism, alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour and a number of visitors feeling intimidated and threatened by this growing gathering. There has also been an increased level of violence among the group, especially towards the longer term homeless,” she said.

Greens MLC Sylvia Hale called on the council to work cooperatively with the group to find long-term, low cost accommodation in the area.

– By Ashley Devine