Liberals move from ‘stop the boats’ to ‘stop the homeless’

Having stopped the boats, the Liberals, in the person of City of Sydney councillor (and wannabe LGBTI icon) Christine Forster, also want to stop the homeless. Fortunately, the plan has been thwarted for now.

In a council meeting on 14 September, Forster proved her Liberal Party credentials by proposing an anti-human plan to “intercept” homeless people at Central Station before they reach the CBD. In response to a rising number of homeless people camping in city parks, she suggested a “low cost” intervention that “would engage with people before they get established in camping sites in Belmore Park or elsewhere”.

Evincing the born-to-rule arrogance of Liberals such as her brother, former PM Tony Abbott, Forster’s proposal comes in the wake of state government cuts to homelessness services, which have led to an increase in people being forced to sleep rough throughout NSW. As a result, people seeking safe living options have begun creating tent communities in public gardens.

Forster must have been channelling former PM John Howard with her proposal to choose who comes to Sydney and the circumstances in which they come. It seems that not only refugees but now the poor are the enemies.

Having lived a very comfortable life mostly on the North Shore, Forster has tastes very clearly aligned with that section of the population she politically represents: the rich. Fortunately, her cynical plan has been thwarted. The Sydney City Council voted down her reactionary proposal.