Police could begin dismantling Fremantle’s ‘tent city’ as soon as Friday as tensions rise
WA Police could move in and begin dismantling a homeless camp in Fremantle as early as Friday after tensions reached boiling point following revelations two teenage girls had allegedly been sexually assaulted by men staying at the park.
Community Services Minister Simone McGurk told 6PR’s Gareth Parker the decision to issue move on notices to organisers had received the green light from the City of Fremantle and aimed to flush out those who had been “manipulating” vulnerable people to make a political point.
Fremantle's tent city at Pioneer ParkCredit:Marta Pascual Juanola
WA Police had previously said they would not remove the homeless without direction from the City of Fremantle and the Department of Communities.
“I know it’s the Premier’s wish as well, that it’s expedited, that we’ll start to do that today,” Ms McGurk told Parker.
“I’m also told by people who have been operating at the camp that the camp organisers have gotten legal advice so they are going to do what they can to frustrate that.”
Ms McGurk said City of Fremantle chief executive Philip St John had met with Department of Communities director general Michelle Andrews and Assistant Police Commissioner Col Blanch on Friday morning to plan the operation, which would begin by dismantling the camp kitchen and handing move-on notices to organisers and volunteers.
"Those people who are camping, I think we need to get them into accommodation and we are working really hard to do that," she said.
“I think the organisers have been playing a very dangerous game in a political protest and using very vulnerable people to do that and not only have those vulnerable people been harmed and put in harm’s way, but so have the community and local businesses in Fremantle.”
Tensions about the camp’s presence at Pioneer Park –which has been operating since Boxing Day across the road from Ms McGurk’s office – reached breaking point this week after Premier Mark McGowan labelled organisers as anarchists and professional protesters and called for the camp to be dismantled immediately.
On Thursday, WA Police claimed a swathe of crimes in the area, including charges over sex attacks on two girls aged 13 and 14, were linked to the camp.
Fremantle council also made it clear it did not support the camp, passing a motion on Wednesday night to "seek a closure" of the camp within two weeks.
Ms McGurk said at least six people in emergency accommodation in Northbridge had been coached by organisers to move to the camp in a bid to make a political point ahead of the election.
“One of the things that has been frustrating about this and a similar camp in Lord Street is that as soon as we get people accommodation there are other people who are encouraged to come to the camp [by the organisers],” she said.
"There's a distinction between those people who have organised this, orchestrated it, and what we are saying about those people who are homeless. Of course, they need our support and sympathy."
But camp organiser Jesse Noakes rejected claims by Ms McGurk rough sleepers had been lured to the park, saying he had never "persuaded any person to pitch a tent in a park".
"I have no idea what the minister is talking about," he told WAtoday.
“If people pitch tents visibly and the government responds by providing them, and only them, with housing, it’s understandable that other desperate people who have been ignored and abandoned in the public housing waitlist for many years might decide that’s the route out of their situation.
"And that's entirely of the government's own making."
Mr Noakes, who is also a spokesman for the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, said he was in no position to provide legal advice.
Marta is an award-winning photographer and journalist with a focus on social justice issues and local government.