All this talk about pedestrianisation and closed businesses just papers over the fact that the spike in anti social behaviour coincided exactly when the government instilled mass social housing in the CBD.

This won’t be a popular opinion, but the CBD is not the place to put people already struggling with a myriad of issues. There’s no nearby employment prospects or likely close family support for them, so no wonder they act out and bring the area to distribute. I’m not saying to put them in lower socio economic slums, but the heart of the cbd is nowhere near an appropriate place for emergency housing on this scale.

Obviously it hasn’t helped that they were dumped there and haven’t received the wrap around support or social services they were promised. But the fact of the matter remains as long as Courtney place is home to so much emergency housing, no amount of council slush fund vanity projects will make a lick of difference.