The death of a newborn at a homeless camp in regional NSW has intensified calls for action to address the region’s escalating housing crisis.

Emergency services were called on Saturday afternoon to Cadell Place, Wagga Wagga, which runs along the Murrumbidgee River, where a newborn baby was found dead. A second infant and the children’s 37-year-old mother were taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The number of people camping by the river has been increasing in Wagga Wagga, amid low rental vacancies and public housing “renewal”.Richard Foley
This masthead understands she had just given birth. Local media reported the baby was found inside a tent. Homes NSW were engaged with the family over many years.

A report will be prepared for the coroner, and police believe there are no suspicious circumstances.

Dozens of people live at the camp amid a dire cost-of-living crisis, housing shortage and long waitlists for emergency and community housing.

Independent member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr was recently taken on a tour of the encampment by staff from the Department of Housing.

Tents by the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga on Monday.Richard Foley
He said he was shocked by the death: “It’s awful, and it’s an absolute tragedy and the community is devastated.”

He said the number of people living by the river in “untidy” and “dangerous” conditions had been a concern for some time. Some residents have lived there for over a year.

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“Having people living in those conditions in tents isn’t sanitary, and it isn’t safe,” he said.

“It’s quite shocking, and I think it does highlight how significant the issue is.”

Local MP Joe McGirr said he was shocked by the death.Nick Moir
Last month, he convened a meeting between police, council and department of housing staff to address the crisis, with a second meeting planned for next month.

Local councillor Richard Foley said the “terrible tragedy” was a direct and predictable result of systemic failure to address homelessness and housing.

Foley told this masthead people have always lived down by the river.

“But it’s now increasing and getting much, much worse,” he said.

‘It’s quite shocking, and I think it does highlight how significant the issue is.’
Wagga Wagga MP Dr Joe McGirr

Broader economic conditions, razor-thin rental vacancies and a lack of public housing were driving the increase. “It’s ridiculous and people have nowhere to go,” he said.

“Some members of the community just want us to go in there and remove them … but that’s not going to solve anything, it’s only going to push the problem somewhere else.”

Foley put it down to a lack of public housing, which is a state government issue.

“But I believe as a council, we’ve got a moral duty to at least do everything we can to fight for the right outcomes in the community.

The banks of the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga.Photo: Supplied
“They say there’s action coming, but they keep telling us that.”

New construction will only replace housing that has been demolished, Foley said.

Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson called the news “heartbreaking”.

“The death of any member of our homeless community is tragic, but the death of a newborn baby is beyond comprehension,” she said.

“I extend my deepest condolences to the baby’s parents and family. I understand mum and her other infant child are currently in hospital. I’m hoping that they make a full recovery soon.”

“Heartbreaking”: Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson.Rhett Wyman
Jackson said the woman had been engaged with Homes NSW for many years, but said a lot was still unknown. The department will investigate her circumstances.

As of March this year, there were 674 people on the social housing waitlist in Wagga Wagga.

Wagga Wagga is a priority area for “renewal and delivery of new social housing”, the NSW government said.

Homes NSW is working with the Aboriginal Housing Office, the local council and community housing providers on redeveloping the Tolland estate in the city’s south.

According to the state government agency, about 3 per cent (2047 people) live in Wagga’s 1176 social housing dwellings, compared to 2.4 per cent across regional NSW and 0.8 per cent of the entire state.

Most of the agency’s housing stock was built in the 1960s and 1970s. The cost of maintaining them is increasing, and the properties are becoming less and less suitable for the people living in them, the agency says.

The first stage of the renewal project will soon award a contract to demolish roads and infrastructure and create 24 residential lots. It’s hoped the project will deliver 490 new homes in the next decade.