Clark, Cristy

English

On Wednesday evening, the New South Wales state government passed legislation empowering police to dismantle the Martin Place homeless camp in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. This follows similar actions in Victoria, where police cleared a homeless camp outside Flinders Street Station. Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle proposed a bylaw to ban rough sleeping in the city

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7/21/2020 Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problemhttps://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253 1/4AuthorCristy ClarkLecturer in Law, Southern Cross UniversityAcademic rigour, journalistic flairOn Wednesday evening, the New South Wales state government passed legislationempowering police to dismantle the Martin Place homeless camp in the heart of Sydney’sCBD. This follows similar actions in Victoria, where police cleared a homeless campoutside Flinders Street Station. Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle proposed a bylaw toban rough sleeping in the city.In March, the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, Leilani Farha, censured theCity of Melbourne’s actions, stating that:… the criminalisation of homelessness is deeply concerning and violates international humanrights law.As the special rapporteur highlighted, homelessness is already “a gross violation of the right toadequate housing”. To further discriminate against people rendered homeless by systemic injustice isprohibited under international human rights law.Further reading: Ban on sleeping rough does nothing to fix the problems of homelessnessReal problem is lack of affordable housingThe homeless camp in Martin Place, Sydney, is an uncomfortable reminder of a deeper systemic crisis. Brendan Esposito/AAPClearing homeless camps compounds the violation of humanrights and entrenches the problemAugust 11, 2017 6.09am AEST7/21/2020 Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problemhttps://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253 4/4Cities Housing Sydney Human rights Homeless Affordable housing Political protest HomelessnessUnaffordable housing housing crisis Cities & Policy7/21/2020 Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problemhttps://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253 2/4In contrast to her Melbourne counterpart, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore had been adopting a more human-rights-based approach to resolving the challenges presented by the Martin Place camp.After negotiating with camp organisers, Moore made it clear her council would not disperse the campuntil permanent housing was found for all of the residents. As she pointed out:You can’t solve homelessness without housing — what we urgently need is more affordablehousing and we urgently need the New South Wales government to step up and do their bit.It’s no secret that housing affordability in both Sydney and Melbourne has reached crisis point. Andhomelessness is an inevitable consequence of this. But we have seen little real action fromgovernment to resolve these issues.The NSW government has been offering people temporary crisis accommodation or accommodationon the outskirts of the city. This leaves them isolated from community and without access to services.In contrast, these inner-city camps don’t just provide shelter, food, safety and community; they alsosend a powerful political message to government that it must act to resolve the housing affordabilitycrisis.Having established well-defined rules of conduct, a pool of shared resources and access to free shelterand food, the Martin Place camp can be seen as part of the commons movement.This movement seeks to create alternative models of social organisation to challenge the prevailingmarket-centric approaches imposed by neoliberalism and to reclaim the Right to the City.Further reading: Suburbanising the centre: the government’s anti-urban agenda for SydneyWe should be uncomfortableIt is not surprising that right-wing pundits have described these camps as “eyesores” or that theymake NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian “completely uncomfortable”. The breach of human rights thesecamps represent, and the challenge they pose to the current system, should make peopleuncomfortable.Alan Jones@AlanJonesNo one is unsympathetic to homeless people but they don't belong in an eyesore tent city in Martin Place. Full stop. #nswpol8:47 AM · Aug 1, 2017156 166 people are Tweeting about this7/21/2020 Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problemhttps://theconversation.com/clearing-homeless-camps-compounds-the-violation-of-human-rights-and-entrenches-the-problem-82253 3/4Unlike most comparable nations, Australia has very limited legalprotections for human rights. In this context, actions like the MartinPlace and Flinders Street camps are one of the few options available tovictims of systemic injustice to exercise their democratic right to holdgovernment to account.In seeking to sweep this issue under the carpet, both the City ofMelbourne and the NSW government are not only further breaching theright to adequate housing, they are also trying to silence political protest.It is clear from Moore’s demands, and the NSW government’s ownactions, that the Martin Place camp is working to create pressure foraction. What will motivate the government to resolve this crisis once thecamps have been dispersed?As Nelson Mandela argued in 1991 at the ANC’s Bill of RightsConference:A simple vote, without food, shelter and health care, is to use first-generation rights as asmokescreen to obscure the deep underlying forces which dehumanise people. It is to createan appearance of equality and justice, while by implication socioeconomic inequality isentrenched.We do not want freedom without bread, nor do we want bread without freedom. We mustprovide for all the fundamental rights and freedoms associated with a democratic society.Mandela’s words were hugely relevant to apartheid South Africa, where a ruling elite had establisheda deeply racist and unjust system that linked political disenfranchisement and material deprivation.But they also resonate today in Australia where inequality is on the rise – driven in large part by disparities in property ownership.Homelessness is a deeply dehumanising force that strips people of access to fundamental rights. Thepolicies that are creating this crisis must be seen as unacceptable breaches of human rights. We needto start asking whether our current economic system is compatible with a truly democratic society.Kon Karapanagiotidis@Kon__KAustralia, where we are uncomfortable with homeless people reminding us they exist but not with the fact they are homeless. #MartinPlace4:25 PM · Aug 1, 2017573 358 people are Tweeting about thisClover Moore is one of the few politicians who properlyacknowledges the human right to housing. AAP

Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problem

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Clearing homeless camps compounds the violation of human rights and entrenches the problem

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