When the occupants of a Morningside social housing unit in Brisbane were evicted on 7 July, the state’s housing department and police left one resident behind: Smokey, Paris Cumming’s cat. The jet black feline was left inside after the unit was locked and boarded up.
Paris’s father, Craig Cumming, says he frantically contacted everyone from the RSPCA to housing officers and police but government departments “didn’t seem to be interested in the welfare of this animal”.
Smokey was only discovered by chance 21 days later when a cleaning crew arrived. She had been hiding behind the stove.
Paris Cumming with her cat, Smokey. The two have not yet been reunited despite the cat being found
The eviction that led to Smokey’s disappearance is one of a growing number to have occurred amid a Queensland government crackdown on social housing tenants. Since last year’s change of government, the state has become a much tougher landlord.
On 1 July the Liberal National government began implementing its “enhanced behaviour framework” for social housing. Residents can now be evicted and banned for two years after three infringements.
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Karyn Walsh, the CEO of social welfare agency Micah Projects, says the three-strikes policy was even “harsher” than one implemented under the former LNP premier Campbell Newman.
“It won’t reduce homelessness, it will increase it, and it will increase it for the most vulnerable,” she says.
In July the state’s housing department issued 545 “antisocial behaviour notices”. The ultimate sanction has yet to be meted out but the department issued seven “first and final notices to leave”, according to evidence given at parliamentary estimates.
Nearly 100 people have also been evicted from the state government’s “immediate housing response” (IHR) program, which books people in need of housing rooms in a motel or hotel. About 4,000 homeless Queenslanders live at one of 401 motels and hotels in rooms partly paid for through the IHR.
Rangers begin to tear down a homeless encampment at a park in Moreton Bay in April. Photograph: Paul Hilton/The Guardian
The IHR is supposed to be the first step out of homelessness, with social housing a permanent escape. But since changes were implemented in March, recipients must meet new criteria, such as being eligible for social housing and having identification. Damaging a property makes you ineligible for return.
The state’s housing minister, Sam O’Connor, said the changes were important to ensure “we prioritise housing support for those who are most in need in our community”.
Among those who has been evicted is Ben Caines, who, for two months, had four walls for himself and his dog through the IHR at a Caloundra motel, on the Sunshine Coast.
The accommodation wasn’t flashy. There were regular police raids, the air conditioning unit was held together with sticky tape and there was no kitchen but Caines didn’t make a fuss out of fear of losing it.
But, just as he was getting back on his feet and on the cusp of overcoming homelessness, after finding a job as a disability support worker and an affordable rental he hoped to lease, he was told his time was up at the motel. Caines was banned from the IHR program for not applying for enough homes. He said he had nowhere to go after the eviction.
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The Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works was contacted for comment.
‘I never feel secure,’ Caines says. Photograph: Krystle Wright/The Guardian
Since Caines’ tenancy has been terminated, he is ineligible for IHR funding for six months. He is worried that he will end up in a tent in a park – and then lose the tent in a homeless clearance.
“I am constantly under pressure,” he says. “I am always walking on eggshells. I never feel secure, which is a constant play on my mental health.”
At last measure, 52,031 Queenslanders were on the social housing list, waiting for one of 77,000 dwellings to become available, according to the housing department. Most wait about two and a half years.
As for Smokey the cat, she is yet to be reunited with her owners.
“I miss Smokey so much … I want her back,” Paris Cumming says.
A spokesperson for the Queensland police said the Morningside residents had been issued a written notice on 30 June. Removing possessions was the responsibility of the property’s owner, they said, and police had “not received any information relating to a cat at the residence”.
The Department of Housing and Public Works did not answer a series of questions from Guardian Australia but responded with a general statement, saying housing help was “available for Queenslanders in genuine need”.
“People who access housing assistance – whether short term or long term – are expected to be good tenants and neighbours,” a spokesperson said.
