Theguardian iconTheguardianAug 1, 2026

Fines, indefinite motel stays and uncertainty: how a homeless camp exposed regional Australia’s housing crisis

Rough sleepers at the Wilks Park encampment in Wagga Wagga were told to leave or be fined $1,100. "You would think that people would be here today," says Swansborough, an advocate for the people at Wilks Park.

Fines, indefinite motel stays and uncertainty: how a homeless camp exposed regional Australia’s housing crisis

Share this story

Send the public story page.

Useful takeaways from this story.

Rough sleepers at the Wilks Park encampment in Wagga Wagga were told to leave or be fined $1,100.

"You would think that people would be here today," says Swansborough, an advocate for the people at Wilks Park.

Building the complete brief

The page is ready to read now. The fuller skim-friendly version will appear here automatically.

The useful part

Rough sleepers at the Wilks Park encampment in Wagga Wagga were told to leave or be fined $1,100. "You would think that people would be here today," says Swansborough, an advocate for the people at Wilks Park. "But no one has shown up." Continue reading...

How it works

Keep reading in the app

Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.

Open in app