Just imagine a country that allowed multinationals to export billions of dollars of natural gas tax free.

This country had a housing shortage, and had deliberately spent the past 30 or 40 years underfunding and privatising public housing.

It had also spent billions on automated systems that wrongfully kicked thousands of welfare recipients off their entitlements, justified by the claim that one or two people could rort the system otherwise.

It also severely restricted access to mental health services.

So the homeless population grew.

Some of those people slept in a town square.

So they closed that town square to make sure the homeless people couldn't sleep there anymore.

Welcome to Australia:

"It was pitched as a modern urban space. But the $1.8 million Crescent Plaza is now a no-go zone after Fairfield Council decided it had no option but to shut it down.

"The plaza sits directly opposite the suburb’s busy train station and was built as a meeting hub for families and locals. But the south-west Sydney council responsible for managing it has been struggling to deal with the regular alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour the plaza is attracting.

"Its sudden closure on Tuesday, when NSW Police brought in temporary metal fencing, highlights the grey area councils operate in when dealing with anti-social behaviour in their own spaces.

"Councils don’t have the power to move people on, so regularly rely on the police’s extra powers to enforce change."

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/the-1-8-million-sydney-plaza-now-fenced-off-indefinitely-20260408-p5zm39.html

#auspol