A woman who gave birth to twins in a tent, one of whom did not survive, had been living at a makeshift camp in the NSW Riverina for most of her pregnancy.

The Herald can reveal the 37-year-old woman, who is Indigenous, had been living with her partner along the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga for about five months. The city has a wait time of up to seven years for social housing.

One of the homes in a camp on the bank of the Murrumbidgee River.© Janie Barrett

She went into labour on Saturday afternoon and was assisted by her partner, who called triple zero, and another resident of the camp.

One of the newborns was found dead by emergency services about 4.30pm. A second infant and the mother were taken to the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital in critical condition.

The mother has since left the hospital, and her surviving infant has been transferred to Sydney.

The couple were described by a local as quiet, calm and keeping to themselves. A small princess play tent was set up near their residence, shrouded by trees.

Homes NSW had been in contact with the mother for several years, and she had previously used their housing services. The woman has other children, who did not reside at the camp, and was known to the Department of Communities and Justice.

A homeless camp on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga.© Janie Barrett

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

The Herald has chosen not to name the woman or her partner.

The tragedy has left the community in shock and highlighted the dire housing shortage in Wagga Wagga.

About 10 people live on the riverbanks in tents on Crown land, while another two dozen live on the other side of the river in Wilks Park campground, which is council and Crown land.

Several residents spoken to by this masthead said they have been living at the camps for more than a year. Many have built large structures with privacy screens, solar panels, armchairs and small gardens.

There are nearly 700 people on the social housing waitlist in the city that has a population of fewer than 70,000.

Wagga Women’s Health Centre president Vickie Burkinshaw said the waiting period for level 1 clients, categorised as those most in need, was four years, while other clients wait seven.

The Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga.© Janie Barrett

While temporary or transitional housing, including stays in hotels and motels, is available through Homes NSW, residents must contribute financially unless they are escaping domestic violence and have a support plan.

The woman who gave birth on Saturday would likely have been a level 1 client. Her circumstances are being investigated by Homes NSW.

Burkinshaw said some people on social housing waitlists had given up hope due to the long wait times and complexities of applying for and retaining housing.

“There are mini cities being built,” she said.

“It shouldn’t have taken a death to get to this level of emergency because it’s been on a slow boil for years.”

Councillor Richard Foley said the number of people living in the makeshift structures has been growing in the past few years, driven by the cost-of-living crisis, a housing shortage, and long waitlists for emergency and community housing.

The tragedy has highlighted the dire housing shortage in Wagga Wagga.© Getty Images/iStockphoto

He said he had been warning for more than a year that the homeless crisis and camps were a disaster waiting to happen.

“I warned there’d be a death, but I never thought it’d be something like this,” he said.

Last month, Foley convened a meeting between police, council and department of housing staff to address the crisis, with a second meeting planned for next month.

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

He said the number of people living by the river in “untidy” and “dangerous” conditions had been a concern for some time.

“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.”

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

“The death of any member of our homelessness 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.”

Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin said the issue had been building “for years”.

“The uncomfortable truth is that tragedies like this don’t come out of nowhere. They are the result of a housing system that has broken to the point that there is no safe housing or adequate support available, even for a mother with a newborn baby,” she said.

The Salvation Army’s Social Justice Stocktake found 61.8 per cent of people identified housing affordability and homelessness as an issue in the Riverina community, and 36.4 per cent identified it as an issue for themselves.