Broken Hill Council States No Land Available for Charity's Proposed Homeless Camp

The Broken Hill City Council has told a local food charity that no council land is currently available to establish a transitional camp and support base for people experiencing homelessness. According to reporting by ABC News journalist Kristina Rosengren, the charity Feeding Friends had requested a block of council land or an unused building to set up a comprehensive service hub. The proposed site would have included a food outlet, laundry facilities, and a transitional campsite designed to address rising housing instability in the far-west New South Wales mining city.

Feeding Friends president Don Barron stated that the organization submitted the request to meet an urgent local demand for secure, stable spaces where rough sleepers could establish safe temporary shelters. However, during council discussions, Broken Hill Mayor Tom Kennedy indicated that initial findings showed no suitable land was available. Mayor Kennedy further noted that even if a site were identified, any initiative involving a homeless encampment would require extensive planning approvals and vast public consultation. Prior to the council meeting, several local residents and business owners had already voiced concerns regarding the potential impact of an encampment on neighboring properties.

Mr. Barron expressed disappointment with the council's initial response, emphasizing that the need for support services has expanded significantly over the past five years amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures. Operating in the community, the charity has observed an increasing number of young families experiencing homelessness, with some parents and children sleeping in cars while continuing to attend school. Mr. Barron attributed the crisis primarily to a severe lack of housing and surging affordability pressures.

Legal experts point out that the situation underscores wider policy and regulatory challenges across New South Wales. Derwent Coshott, a senior lecturer in law at Sydney University, explained that establishing a formal transitional campsite would legally require strict planning approvals. Alternatively, Dr. Coshott noted that organizations sometimes rely on a policy of non-enforcement, pointing to the state government's existing protocol for managing homeless individuals in public spaces. Under such an approach, authorities effectively permit camping by choosing not to enforce laws that would otherwise require individuals to move on. However, Dr. Coshott cautioned that this pathway carries inherent risks, as non-enforcement offers no permanent legal protection and laws could potentially be enforced at a later date.

Dr. Coshott added that relying on non-enforcement policies highlights the absence of a comprehensive legal framework for addressing homelessness in regional communities. He observed that administrative protocols essentially indicate a lack of dedicated laws addressing these specific circumstances, leaving authorities to manage complex social issues through discretionary oversight rather than structured legislation.

Reflecting on his own experiences with sleeping rough, Mr. Barron emphasized that addressing the crisis requires coordinated intervention across all levels of government rather than relying solely on local authorities. He argued that local councils often lack the necessary financial resources, making it essential for local, state, and federal governments to collaborate alongside the public to find sustainable solutions for housing affordability and support services in Broken Hill.