Sunshine Coast, Queensland: 'Disheartening' find by locals in riverside campsite a sign of larger, more disturbing problem in Australia
- Massive clean-up included shopping trolleys, prams, clothes and furniture
- Rubbish was removed from abandoned homeless camp
- READ MORE: Geelong woman faces being kicked out of tiny home due to council red tape
A massive clean-up of a riverbank campsite by locals has revealed shocking evidence of Australia's crippling cost of living crisis.
Last week the Ocean Crusaders organisation removed 820kg of rubbish from an abandoned homeless camp along Petrie Creek on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The haul of rubbish included 14 shopping trolleys, prams, clothes and furniture and took four hours to remove.
The clean-up occurred after the homeless camp had been abandoned.
Ocean Crusaders is a non-profit organisation founded in 2010 which cleans up waterways and beaches.
‘Our crusade is to educate people of the need to look after our oceans whilst specialising in cleaning it up through commercial and community events,’ Ocean Crusaders states on its Facebook page.
Ocean Crusaders' founder Ian Thomson said his organisation has been working regularly in the Petrie Creek area since 2017 and he has seen an increase in rubbish along the riverbank.
The haul of rubbish included 14 shopping trolleys, prams, clothes and furniture, and took four hours to remove
Ocean Crusaders removed 820kg of rubbish from the riverbank campsite
The clean-up occurred after the homeless camp had been abandoned
‘People would spend time down there, but with homeless in the area and the amount of rubbish, it's not that pretty... it's disheartening,’ he told Yahoo News.
Mr Thomson said the local wildlife has also been impacted by the rubbish.
He said since Ocean Crusaders have been conducting clean-ups, he has noticed an increase in the local platypus population.
To help combat the homelessness crisis, last year the local Sunshine Coast Council launched the Sunshine Coast Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2023.
In launching the initiative, then Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson wrote: 'The Sunshine Coast is experiencing significant housing affordability challenges and increased levels of homelessness.'
'The Sunshine Coast Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2023 will help build on our existing commitments and provide support for our community. '
The action plan stated the number of homeless people on the Sunshine Coast had increased by 54 per cent from 2016 to 2021.
The council states there are currently 1,205 homeless people on the Sunshine Coast.
