Basic Rights Queensland are the lawyers for 11 Kallangur residents experiencing homelessness in a Supreme Court application. Today the applicants secured an injunction that restricts Moreton Bay Regional Council from acting on previous notices, and moving the applicants on from their camp, until a full hearing in December.
The Honourable Justice Smith found the applicants had established a prima facie case that the Council had not acted compatibly or properly considered human rights questioning the lawfulness of their recent compliance action aimed to remove them from the camp. Justice Smith ultimately found that the balance of convenience favoured the applicants being granted the injunction.
In granting the interim relief, Justice Smith recognised the serious risk of Council destroying the applicants’ “homes”, their tents and makeshift shelters, and the likely health impacts that could be caused by an eviction. The Court also acknowledged the positive role played by community groups, whose assistance had addressed Council’s stated public health concerns.
Today’s decision confirmed what the Queensland Human Rights Act makes clear: human rights apply to everyone, including people who are homeless,” said Sam Tracy for Basic Rights Queensland. “Our clients can sleep a little more easily tonight knowing they won’t be forced from their shelter, or have machinery destroy their tents while their case is being heard.
The coalition assisting the applicants consisting of community lawyers, pro bono partners and barristers (including Kings Counsel), will now prepare for a full judicial review hearing in December, where the Court will consider whether the Council’s actions were lawful and compatible with Queensland’s human rights protections.