Musgrave Park eviction sparks questions over Council’s safety claims

Brisbane City Council’s removal of rough sleepers from Musgrave Park raises questions about the public safety claims used to justify the operation, writes Mason Garland.

On THURSDAY 19 February, Brisbane City Council (BCC) staff and Queensland police officers Musgrave Park was raidedremoval of all tents and rough sleeping residents.

This operation reportedly began at 6 a.m., when most, if not all, sleepers were asleep in their tents.

Following a request for comment on the Council’s actions, LNP Councilor Sarah HuttonHis office made the following statement to the press:

We understand that you have requested information about Musgrave Park, which is a joint operation of the Department of Housing, Queensland Police Service and the council.

The Department of Housing will be best placed to answer questions about accommodation.

Please find the response from Cr Hutton below and attached images of examples of serious security issues.

MEDIA STATEMENT, Civilian Cabinet Head of Customer Services Sarah Hutton:

We have serious concerns about public safety in Musgrave Park, which is why we took action today with Queensland Police and the Department of Housing.

Musgrave Park should be a safe space for everyone, but our officers have collected more than 644 used needles from the park since September.

In fact, over the past six months our officers have collected more than 1,500 needles from parks across Brisbane during homeless clearance operations.

Under horrific conditions, one of our officers recently suffered a needle stick while clearing a dangerous tent camp.

They now need to do extensive testing over the next few weeks to make sure they don’t have any illnesses.

If this can happen to a trained officer wearing protective gear, we cannot ignore the obvious question: What would happen if a child was stung while playing on the playground?

It’s pretty clear that drug use is out of control in Musgrave Park and something needs to be done about it.

Our police officers resorted to heavy equipment such as Bobcats due to the risk of needle sticks during these cleanups.

This is not normal park maintenance. This is a response to a serious public safety issue.

Our officers do an incredibly challenging job in challenging conditions and deserve support, not criticism.

Those who repeatedly try to stop authorities from helping the homeless and criticize our officers for clearing Musgrave Park are making Brisbane less safe for all residents.

BACKGROUND:

Today, everyone asked to move by police was offered housing, refused to meet with housing officials, or was repeatedly evicted from housing.

There have been serious safety issues at Musgrave Park in recent years, including stabbings, assaults, arson, theft and drug use.

In November 2025, a large machete was found and removed from Musgrave Park.

The Queensland Fire Department attended Musgrave Park on January 16, 2026 to extinguish a dangerous fire at one of the tent camps.

While this press release does not answer the questions Councilman Hutton was asked to answer, it does demonstrate the BCC’s continued effort to portray its tough crackdown approach as responsible and necessary for public safety.

Attached to this press release were a few images: 1) needles; 2) a machete; and 3) a burning tent.

The first two photographs were clearly taken by Council or Queensland Police Service (QPS) officers during their operations; the third was a witness or first responder to a separate incident.

The important point to note is that in the first image, which contains approximately 190 needles, there are at least five sharps boxes on the left side of the image.

These sharps containers are kept securely in public toilets in Musgrave Park as a way to safely dispose of needles.

So far, when asked to comment on the operation, the QPS has not answered questions about whether the needles in this image were mostly found in sharps containers and who initially requested the joint operation take place.

QPS Media and Public Relations Officer Caleb Mohanbut he stated that ‘A 44-year-old man was charged with one count each of resisting public officers and possession of a dangerous drug (methylamphetamine).’.

According to Officer Mohan, no other arrest or release warrants were used during the operation.

Gabba District Green Councilor during the next BCC meeting on Tuesday Trina Massey The Mayor was interrogated Adrian SchrinnerHis comments about the rough-sleeping offender, who allegedly used NDIS and prescribed medication and allegedly had “methylamphetamine” seized by QPS officers.

this video originally posted On Councilor Trina Massey’s Instagram account:

Community Union Defense LeagueSupporting rough sleepers in Musgrave Park published a statement He condemned the operation:

Around 6 o’clock this morning, Police stormed Musgrave Park, waking residents and removing them from their homes so they could be bulldozed. Two people were arrested because they couldn’t get their homes and lives together fast enough.

Just yesterday residents were assured that they would not be evacuated today, and when we investigated similar promises were made.

This continues the Council and QPS’ terror of some of the most vulnerable members of our community, throwing their lives into instant chaos.

If they want people out of the park so badly, put them in safe, long-term housing. Without support this solves nothing except public relations problems among the Council’s increasingly reactionary support bases. The housing crisis cannot be eliminated from society through state violence and will eventually lead to more violence.

In particular, journalists Courier Post Those present during the operation, upload video It shows council workers using Bobcats to crush and clear all the tents and sleepers’ personal belongings in the park.

Ministry of Housing officers were reportedly present along with BCC and QPS officers, as both stated. Courier Post‘ news and press release from Councilor Sarah Hutton’s Office.

When we contacted the Ministry of Construction and Public Works with various questions regarding the operation and the fate of the sleepers, the following response was received:

The Department of Housing and Works’ Housing Outreach and Mobile Engagement (HOME) team delivers outreach to known homelessness hotspots, operating as part of a joint response model with government-funded Specialist Homelessness Services and local authorities. The team works closely with Brisbane City Council, which is responsible for the management and compliance of public spaces across Brisbane, including Musgrave Park.

The HOME team have engaged with hundreds of people experiencing homelessness in Musgrave Park since 2023, supporting more than 409 rough sleepers with accommodation.

The HOME team travel to Musgrave Park twice a week to offer housing help and support, including on Thursday 19 February when individuals are supported with housing.

The team will continue to visit Musgrave Park to provide assistance and provide accommodation and support services to people experiencing homelessness.

The BCC is required to have Department of Housing officials present alongside Council officials when carrying out these homeless camp evictions so that the Department of Housing can coordinate and provide potential permanent and/or temporary housing solutions for rough sleepers.

Approximately half of those sleeping in tents appear to have accepted the offer of temporary accommodation; however, it is unknown what accommodation options are offered and accepted and how long the temporary stay will be.

Faced with another operation on Thursday 5 March, in which Council officials evacuated those sleeping in tents, Councilor Massey came to find out: ‘during [Department of Housing] ‘Officers were present at the scene, they remained in a car 10-15 meters away and did not speak to a single sleeping person or offer any accommodation assistance’.

Massey continued:

‘BCC stated they will be back in a few days. Once again, I was not offered housing… [Department of] ‘The physical existence of the residence.’

The video below was posted on Councilwoman Trina Massey’s Instagram account shortly after another video showed Massey in the area as the tent evacuation operation continued.

As the Councilor explained, while the BCC conducts these large-scale operations to clear out sleepers, official protocol requires City officials to first place a warning label on the tents and notify prospective residents of the potential evacuation and tent removal, usually 24 hours after the label is placed.

According to sources on the ground, who will remain anonymous for privacy reasons, sleepers at Musgrave Park were informed on Wednesday (February 18) that these notices were merely procedural and that they would need to move their tents to another part of the park as the Council planned to have the grass mowed.

This situation was reportedly repeated by a QPS officer on the 18th when he was questioned by rough sleepers and community members as to why all the tents had warning labels on them.

Mason Garland is a freelance Brisbane journalist focusing on homelessness and how governments and society are responding to Queensland’s housing crisis.

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