Let the Permanent Residents Stay in Kirra Tourist Park

Kirra Tourist Park has permanent homes that have been owned and lived in by pensioners for decades. These people purchased their homes with the understanding their leases would be renewed. They can not afford to relocate or buy new homes with the small payout the council might give them, and a lot of them have no other option for housing, as there is no affordable housing on the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast is in a housing crisis and these permanent homes in the caravan park are a great option to keep pensioners homed. Instead, the council is choosing to make the housing situation worse, all for some extra holiday campsites that aren't needed. The park has an abundance of space for permanent residents and holidaymakers. It makes no sense to oust people from a sustainable and affordable living situation to make more holiday campsites. While The Gold Coast is seeing more families become homeless the Gold Coast City Council is demolishing 13 liveable family-sized homes in the park over the next few weeks.

In 5 years, all of the permanent residents will be either evicted with no compensation, or if they are compensated the buyout figure will be so low that it will not even come close to buying them another home in the community they love, or anywhere for that matter. All of this is causing significant mental and emotional stress on the residents.

The residents live with this date and situation looming over their heads, yet they keep their homes and their gardens immaculate, as they always have, because this is their home, that they love and they do not want to leave.

Please help us by signing and sharing this petition so we can show the Gold Coast City Council that keeping pensioners in their community and affordable housing is more important than extra camping sites for holidaymakers.