In a dawn raid on May 4, about 20 police descended on protesters, who had set up tents on the lawn in front of Hobart’s Parliament House to protest the state government’s lack of response to Hobart’s housing crisis, and ordered them to move on.
Occupy Tasmania, a group of homeless people, had set up 15 tents outside Parliament House on May 1 to raise the issue of homelessness and insecure housing. The group are calling for the government to provide housing solutions, as the worsens, with increased demand pushing up prices.
One of the protesters, Stitch, who said he had been homeless for eight years, said the group were ordered not to return to the Parliament House grounds.
"The issue isn't going to go away ... just because they've made us go away," he said. "Their policies won't change; Liberal policies never change."
Police said two people were arrested after they "failed to comply with a direction to leave by the Controller of Parliament House".