‘I will not give up’: Backbencher gets community’s back up over bench removal

At lunchtime on Wednesday, a first-term backbencher from Queensland’s regional town of Maryborough shared a local win – he’d successfully pushed for the removal of a public bench from a city street.

“I am taking action to improve safety in our CBD, and I will not give up,” the LNP’s John Barounis posted on Facebook and Instagram, explaining businesses and community members had raised concerns about anti-social behaviour.

Some people applauded the move, including a local who said people had been harassed by people sitting on the bench, which was outside a bottle shop.

However, the posts quickly attracted a flurry of condemnations, particularly on Facebook, where people suggested it was like an episode of Utopia or Parks and Recreation .

One quipped speeding had been eliminated by removing roads, while another joked he felt much safer with one less chair on the streets.

Griffith University urban planning expert Dr Natalie Osborne said many people relied on benches, particularly those with shade, and they were part of making public spaces accessible, welcoming and practical.

“Lots of people, including many older people, children and people with disabilities, find that they need spaces to rest along their walks, while waiting for public transport, or between errands,” she said.

“And, of course, there are people in our communities who spend a lot of time in public space because they are unhoused, and those people also deserve places to sit and rest.”

Osborne said the term “anti-social behaviour” was a bit vague, but removing a bench signalled that certain people were not welcome in a public space.

And she said it could have the opposite effect by discouraging people from spending much time shopping and enjoying an area.

Labor’s housing spokeswoman Meaghan Scanlon said the answer to homelessness was not removing a bench, but was about funding and delivering support services.

Anti-social behaviour is a hot political issue in Maryborough, where police regularly run targeted operations to crack down on crimes such as wilful damage, drug driving, public nuisance, stealing and possession of drugs and weapons.

Last month, the city’s CBD became a designated business and community precinct, after a series of community forums where residents and local businesses voiced their anger.

The designation is similar to existing safe night precincts in other parts of Queensland, and gives police stronger move-on and wanding powers.