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Thomas Weir, 76, was conscripted into the Australian army and sent to serve in the Vietnam war. The veteran is now homeless, living in a caravan at a public park, and now facing another battle, this time against the City of Moreton Bay.
The local government voted on Wednesday to effectively ban homelessness by repealing regulations that had allowed people to set up camp in public spaces such as parks.
“It’s sad and shocking that these people feel compelled that they need to live like this,” councillor Jodie Shipway said, at Wednesday’s council meeting, to explain her vote for the change. “Their health and safety is as much at play here as is the health and safety of our community.”
But Weir, who has been homeless for nearly two years and lives in his car in Pelican Park, says he is part of the Redcliffe community and ought to be allowed to stay.
“They’re saying that we can’t stay here overnight. I mean, that’s just bullshit. When you’re homeless, where else are you going to go?”
That was a common sentiment among Redcliffe’s community of homeless residents this week, as they were informed of the change: “Where do we go?”
Weir, a former university lecturer and business owner who was sent to Vietnam after being conscripted into the Australian army, says he isn’t going anywhere. Instead he’s planning to fight.