\n<\/p>\n
W<\/span>hen the occupants of a Morningside social housing unit in Brisbane <\/strong>were evicted on 7 July, the state\u2019s housing department and police left one resident behind: Smokey, Paris Cumming\u2019s cat. The jet black feline was left inside after the unit was locked and boarded up.<\/p>\n Paris\u2019s father, Craig Cumming, says he frantically contacted everyone from the RSPCA to housing officers and police but government departments \u201cdidn\u2019t seem to be interested in the welfare of this animal\u201d.<\/p>\n Smokey was only discovered by chance 21 days later when a cleaning crew arrived. She had been hiding behind the stove.<\/p>\n <\/span>Paris Cumming with her cat, Smokey. The two have not yet been reunited despite the cat being found<\/span><\/p>\n The eviction that led to Smokey\u2019s disappearance is one of a growing number to have occurred amid a Queensland government crackdown on social housing tenants. Since last year\u2019s change of government, the state has become a much tougher landlord.<\/p>\n On 1 July the Liberal National government began implementing its \u201cenhanced behaviour framework\u201d for social housing. Residents can now be evicted and banned for two years after three infringements.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/p>\n Karyn Walsh, the CEO of social welfare agency Micah Projects, says the three-strikes policy was even \u201charsher\u201d than one implemented under the former LNP premier Campbell Newman.<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t reduce homelessness, it will increase it, and it will increase it for the most vulnerable,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n In July the state\u2019s housing department issued 545 \u201cantisocial behaviour notices\u201d. The ultimate sanction has yet to be meted out but the department issued seven \u201cfirst and final notices to leave\u201d, according to evidence given at parliamentary estimates.<\/p>\n Nearly 100 people have also been evicted from the state government\u2019s \u201cimmediate housing response\u201d (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.<\/p>\n <\/span>Rangers begin to tear down a homeless encampment at a park in Moreton Bay in April. <\/span> Photograph: Paul Hilton\/The Guardian<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s housing minister, Sam O\u2019Connor, said the changes were important to ensure \u201cwe prioritise housing support for those who are most in need in our community\u201d.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The accommodation wasn\u2019t flashy. There were regular police raids, the air conditioning unit was held together with sticky tape and there was no kitchen but Caines didn\u2019t make a fuss out of fear of losing it.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/span><\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.<\/span><\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u2018I never feel secure,\u2019 Caines says.<\/span> Photograph: Krystle Wright\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Since Caines\u2019 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 \u2013 and then lose the tent in a homeless clearance.<\/p>\n \u201cI am constantly under pressure,\u201d he says. \u201cI am always walking on eggshells. I never feel secure, which is a constant play on my mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n As for Smokey the cat, she is yet to be reunited with her owners.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss Smokey so much \u2026 I want her back,\u201d Paris Cumming says.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s owner, they said, and police had \u201cnot received any information relating to a cat at the residence\u201d.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cavailable for Queenslanders in genuine need\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who access housing assistance \u2013 whether short term or long term \u2013 are expected to be good tenants and neighbours,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When the occupants of a Morningside social housing unit in Brisbane were evicted on 7 July, the state\u2019s housing department and police left one resident behind: Smokey, Paris Cumming\u2019s cat. The jet black feline was left inside after the unit was locked and boarded up. Paris\u2019s father, Craig Cumming, says he frantically contacted everyone from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[5011,3095,6085,1264,100,11278,11279],"class_list":{"0":"post-18475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social-issues","8":"tag-cat","9":"tag-crackdown","10":"tag-homes","11":"tag-housing","12":"tag-missing","13":"tag-motel","14":"tag-queenslands"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}