Horrified Wagga residents call for proper sanitation at homeless camp where baby was found dead | Inequality

The tent where a newborn baby was found dead on Wagga Beach at the weekend was part of a homeless encampment located a 15-minute walk from the nearest public toilet or running water, with residents of a nearby building saying conditions were “worse than a Syrian war camp”.

The tragedy has sparked community anger, with Wagga Wagga residents calling on authorities to take urgent action to make the encampments safe and hygienic.

The 37-year-old mother was living by the Murrumbidgee River with her partner when she went into labor. On Saturday, police were called to the camp where they found one of her newborns had died.

The woman and the other twin were taken to hospital. The woman has been released from hospital while the infant – who was in a critical condition on Monday – was transferred to a Sydney hospital.

It is not known why the newborn died.

One resident, who lives along the riverside encampment but did not wish to be named, said the woman, who is Aboriginal, had not returned to the camp.

It appears that the woman had other children who were not present during the birth and who did not live with the couple in the tent. Her partner was there during the birth.

Homelessness is a growing problem in Wagga, with several encampments in the area. Several people working in local social services said the river camp — which includes about 10 tents — was considered a safer and quieter place than other encampments, with single women, some younger than 25, living there.

A city councilor, Amelia Parkins, said the city’s largest encampment, Wilks Park Campground, was well managed, with trash collection and access to toilets. At a community meeting on Tuesday evening, calls were made for the council to provide the same level of amenities to those living in other encampments.

“The Council can do it”, Parkins said. “But it would have to be a short-term option, just to help people with hygiene and sanitation right now. »

The nearest public toilets are about a 10-15 minute walk from most tents and are closed at night. Residents of the river camp used water from a much closer building until access was restricted.

Parkins said she was investigating whether the council asked for water to be restricted after complaints from apartment residents about people at the camp using water.

“Access to clean water is a basic human right,” Parkins said. “And something the council should be able to provide.”

“That also goes for waste collection. You know, the council handles all waste management.”

Asked if it had requested water to be restricted, Wagga Wagga City Council said it had been contacted by apartment residents complaining about people “camping on private property, bathing and washing under the taps on that property and intimidating residents”.

“General advice was given by compliance officers in response to this specific request to secure public areas of the complex, at the request of the resident,” a spokesperson said. “The Council does not manage infrastructure on private property.”

The council said public amenities at Wagga Beach “remain accessible in accordance with normal operating hours” and was not informed of concerns that a woman living by the river was pregnant.

A wider problem

Residents and councilors are calling for more permanent housing solutions, calling on the NSW Government to invest in social housing and provide more funding for support services.

Homes NSW has worked with this woman’s family for many years and she has received help with both short and long term properties. The aid had been abandoned.

“People [living rough] can be offered short-term housing and that’s a really tricky thing,” Parkins said. “If you’ve set up camp, say, down by the river, only to move for a week or two, only to have to go back to the river.”

At a local meeting Tuesday evening, residents were visibly shaken by the tragedy and outraged that homes were being destroyed. The crisis had become so serious that one woman gave birth in a tent.

“Everyone is pretty upset that something like this happened in Wagga,” Parkins said. “There is a general feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, and many people desperately want to do something but don’t know what to do. »

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson, local state MP Joe McGirr and Wagga Mayor Dallas Tout will meet on Thursday to discuss the baby’s death.

Wagga Women’s Health Center president Vickie Burkinshaw backed calls for immediate “practical solutions”, such as access to clean water.

“There’s no sanitation there,” Burkinshaw said. “So a lot of camps are attracted to places where there are sanitation facilities, but there clearly aren’t enough for the number of people using them. »

In the long term, she said, the community needs more social housing. The waiting list for social housing in the area was around 700 people, Burkinshaw said, and it could take up to four years for even the most vulnerable to find a place. She said all levels of government are failing the community.

“The bureaucracy has been trying to solve this problem for a very long time, and we’re just not getting results,” she said. “We’re not taking people off the street. We’re putting more people on this street.”

– Additional reporting by Caitlin Cassidy