STATE GOVERNMENT REJECTS EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR ROCKINGHAM HOMELESS AFTER 99-DAY WAIT

Empty recreation camps have been deemed "unsuitable" for crisis accommodation, leaving hundreds of vulnerable people stranded in tents along Memorial Drive.

Wade McColl (03/09/2026)

City of Rockingham Councillor Peter Hudson standing on the road entering the Memorial Drive encampment. Photo by Wade McColl, Baldivis Times, Memorial Drive, 2026.

For 99 days, the City of Rockingham waited for a lifeline from the State Government regarding the escalating humanitarian crisis on Memorial Drive. The response has finally arrived, bringing devastating news for the estimated 250 people currently sleeping rough. State authorities have officially denied the council's urgent resolution to repurpose empty, government-leased recreation camps for emergency crisis accommodation.

According to City of Rockingham Councillor Peter Hudson, the Minister for Homelessness responded to the council's formal request by simply dismissing the vacant facilities as "unsuitable."

This outright rejection has sparked fierce backlash from local advocates, who are desperately questioning the logic behind the decision. With severe winter weather continuing to batter the region, the community is asking how an empty, structurally sound building can be deemed more unsuitable than a freezing, unpowered tent exposed to heavy storms and speeding traffic.

The Human Cost on Memorial Drive

Ken, local homeless resident living in on memorial drive. Photo by Wade McColl, Baldivis Times, Memorial Drive, 2026.

The encampment along Memorial Drive is not just a political talking point; it is a sprawling humanitarian emergency. The people residing in these tents include pensioners, veterans, former tradespeople, and single mothers who have been entirely priced out of the brutal Western Australian rental market.

Every day without a safe bed amplifies the danger for these residents. Recent weeks have seen essential supplies like solar panels stolen in the night, vital support animals tragically killed by speeding vehicles, and extreme health declines due to freezing overnight temperatures. Despite these harrowing conditions, state officials continue to signal that the Safety Bay camp will eventually be shut down, yet they refuse to provide a designated, safe alternative for the displaced families.

Political Absence and Local Outrage

Memorial Drive tents, City of Rockingham. Photo by Wade McColl, Baldivis Times, Memorial Drive, 2026.

Councillor Hudson has publicly condemned the lack of state-level intervention, calling the 99-day wait for a basic rejection letter "shameful."

In his recent public address from Memorial Drive, he criticized the ongoing absence of top-tier leadership on the ground. Hudson highlighted that while local councillors and community volunteers are out distributing medical kits and sleeping bags, the local State Member and the Premier remain conspicuously absent from the site of one of Australia's largest concentrations of homelessness.

Moving a camp does not erase homelessness; it merely pushes vulnerable citizens further into the shadows. The community is now demanding to know what the immediate next step is to get these people into safe beds before another tragedy occurs on our local roads.