Homeless campers in Rockingham pack up after being ordered to leave

Dozens of homeless people have been ordered to leave a makeshift camp on Memorial Drive near Rockingham in Perth's south by the end of today. WA Police and wildlife officers visited the site this morning to encourage people to pack up their belongings. What's next? The government says many of the campers have been put in touch with support services and crisis accommodation. Homeless people living in a makeshift camp in Perth's south have started packing up their belongings after being ordered to leave the area by the end of today. WA Police and wildlife officers arrived at the camp on Memorial Drive in the City of Rockingham, about 50 kilometres south of Perth's CBD, just before 10am. That was the deadline given in a letter handed out to about 45 of the campers yesterday, ordering them to vacate the area today after failing to comply with a similar demand a week ago. Officers could be seen gently encouraging people to pack up and leave, with some referring to the campers by their first name. Gemma Jones had started packing this morning but was a long way from being finished when authorities arrived. She said she had been offered temporary accommodation in Fremantle but it was too far, so she was planning to stay in someone's yard. "I am a bit scared and unsure of what is next," she said. Memorial Drive was still lined with tents, cars and people's belongings this morning, but many people had already left. Richard, who was helping others pack up, said police and wildlife officers had been understanding. A wider problem Shelter WA chief executive officer Kath Snell said Memorial Drive had highlighted the lack of housing in WA, and the issue was much bigger than one homeless camp. "Memorial Drive is ... a very visible and distressing example of what we are seeing across WA," she said. Minister for Homelessness Matthew Swinbourn said outreach officers had been visiting the site for months in an attempt to link the campers up with support services. He said more than 30 people had been set up with crisis accommodation, or were being added to the public housing wait list. Mr Swinbourn said the area needed to be vacated to protect the safety of campers and nearby residents amid antisocial behaviour, a build-up of waste and the fast-approaching bushfire season. "If they remain on that site past [today], the police will become involved and formal move on-notices will be issued," he said yesterday.