Backpackers in Queensland in 'deadly' hostels
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)
Gavin King
November 29, 2009 12:00am
THESE are the squalid and cramped conditions backpackers are living in as they flood into far-northern towns in search of seasonal work.
Unscrupulous landlords in Cairns, Tully and Innisfail are cramming up to 12 people in three-bedroom houses with beds blocking exits, no smoke alarms and dangerously overloaded power points.
Some houses are operating on a policy that authorities have dubbed "time share mattresses", where shift workers on separate day and night rosters share the same bed. They are charged up to $150 each per week to live in makeshift hostels, with guaranteed farm jobs and a pick-up and drop-off service.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council Mayor Bill Shannon said a crackdown had been launched to prevent a Childers-style fire tragedy, which killed 15 people in 2000. Cr Shannon said the illegal hostels were thriving due to the high demand for fruit pickers and the chronic shortage of accommodation.
"The landlords are part of a sophisticated operation that exploits backpackers and endangers their lives," he said.
Innisfail's Codge Lodge backpacker hostel manager Nicholas Pervan told The Sunday Mail he believes there are more than 20 illegal share-houses in Innisfail and Tully. "There are no safety checks in these places, no inspections by authorities, no guidelines to ensure the safety of people living there."
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts told The Sunday Mail fire inspectors had recently inspected six illegal sharehouses in Tully and Cairns. "The occupier of one building was issued with a requisition notice by the QFRS to reduce the occupancy numbers to below six persons until the building complies with the Fire Safety Standard. Failing to comply with the requisition could result in a $50,000 fine or six months imprisonment," he said.
Bundaberg Regional Council Mayor Lorraine Pyefinch called on state and federal governments to take the problem seriously before tragedy strikes the region again.
