Cold war over hot meals as communist soup kitchen told to leave city square

A street kitchen set up by the Australian Communist Party has been told it will need to relocate to a different part of the city to give food to homeless people.

The notification to move the service along came around the same time the group was paid a visit by Lois Boswell, the chief executive of SA’s Department of Human Services.

Ms Boswell lives in the area and part-owns the nearby pub Sparkke at the Whitmore, prompting concerns from the local party branch that Ms Boswell has a conflict of interest.

But she has rejected that, saying her intention is to reduce violence and anti-social behaviour.

For two years, Casey McEwan, 17, and Bob Briton have been giving out food to Adelaide’s homeless population in Whitmore Square, a popular public park in the south-western quadrant of the CBD.

“We started the street kitchen in August of 2019 and it started with me and Bob under one tent with one table and two meals, and we barely got 30 meals out that day,” Mr McEwan said.

Now, they serve between 250 and 300 meals each week, all paid for and prepared by volunteers.

The volunteers chose Sunday afternoon because they thought it was a “blind spot” for other homeless services.

“The churches that do [provide services] most of the week, don’t do them on Sunday except for breakfasts because they’ve got religious services on, and most of the volunteers have a Sunday off — so were trying to fill in a bit of a gap,” Mr McEwan said.

Bob Briton, who started the SA branch of the Australian Communist Party, said the street kitchen was established to serve underprivileged people in the community.

“We always thought of it as part of our political commitment and it’s certainly part of the glue for our organisation,” he said.

Despite flying the Communist Party flag at their event, the founders say they do not recruit members at the weekly street kitchen.

“We have never signed up or actively tried to sign up anybody who’s come to the kitchen for the party at all,” Mr McEwan said.

“We have never turned anybody away because of a difference of opinion or religion or ideology whatsoever.”

But the street kitchen founder said organisers have been approached by representatives from the Adelaide City Council, SA Police and Department of Human Services to tell them they can no longer operate in Whitmore Square.

Mr McEwan admitted they had not applied for a council permit, following advice from the council that they would need to move to West Terrace to gain approval.

“We are willing to move forward and try and come to some sort of agreement, whether that’s a permit or an exemption,” he said.

But, the group wants to stay in the square.

“We just want to continue doing it there.”

The former boss of Anglicare SA, Peter Sandeman, said Whitmore Square had always been a safe space for those experiencing homelessness.

“This has been the place for homeless people in Adelaide for a long, long time,” he said. 

“It’s where they feel safe, it’s where they come for their services.

“It’s very good that community groups are supporting homeless people and providing food — Whitmore Square is a logical place for that to be.

“Obviously these relationships need to be managed carefully but it does call for collaboration and consultation and people sitting down together.”

Request made to ‘reduce violent behaviour’

Mr Briton said they had a visit earlier this month from a government official who voiced her concerns about their operation.

“She identified herself as ‘Lois’, she said that she was from the Department of Human Services … and what we were doing was fostering dependence among a section of the Aboriginal community,” he said. 

“There was an argument about that because we’re there once a week — we can hardly provide a service on which people would depend.”

Later, the group discovered it was Lois Boswell, the chief executive of the Department of Human Services.

Ms Boswell said she made the Sunday afternoon visit in her capacity as chair of a new task force set-up to “reduce anti-social and sometimes violent behaviour associated with visitors to Adelaide from remote Aboriginal communities”.

“I advised them that the task force had concerns that some services in the area may not be assisting vulnerable people in the way they were intended to,” she said.

The group has questioned whether Ms Boswell has a conflict of interest, pointing out she lives nearby and owns a share in Sparkke at the Whitmore — an adjacent pub that prides itself on dedication to social causes.

“It feels a bit scary or monolithic, if you will, for [someone in] such a high position to come down in person,” Mr McEwan said.

“It does cross my mind that maybe the interests of the pub and convenience of the clientele would be better if there weren’t a gathering of homeless people there.”

Ms Boswell did not respond to the ABC’s written questions about whether she has a conflict of interest but, in an earlier phone conversation, she denied her part-ownership of the pub has any impact on her roles as head of the task force and of the department.

“At no stage has DHS or the task force asked for any group to be moved by council or SAPOL,” she said in a statement.

In a statement provided on Sunday night, Ms Boswell said she was unaware that council had advised the group they would need to move.

“I only became aware of the proposal they should move due to this media story,” she said after publication.

“DHS remains in discussion with Elders, community leaders, service providers and task force members (including Council and SAPOL) about the best ways to provide services that will have a positive impact on vulnerable people.”

Mixed responses from local residents and business owners

Whitmore Square is in a pocket of the city which has undergone significant gentrification in recent years.

Apartment buildings, cafes and restaurants have opened in the area, which is currently undergoing a $900,000 redevelopment, paid for by the state government.

The works include a footpath around the northern perimeter of the square, additional mature trees and improved community amenities.

When the redevelopment was announced last month, City of Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said it would create “a dynamic area for the community”.

“This upgrade has been developed in consultation with SA Police and by improving the square, it’s hoped more people will visit the space, making it a safer place for all to enjoy,” she said.

But some locals are sceptical about the work, including resident and business owner Tony Straccia.

“The other day a lady from the council came here to talk about the beautification of the square and my response to her was, ‘you can’t put lipstick on a pig’,” Mr Straccia said.

Mr Straccia is supportive of the decision to move some homeless services to West Terrace.

“I experience waking up every morning to some form of surprise — whether it be people sleeping in the foyer of my building, whether it be plants being damaged, whether it be defecation on my footpath,” he said.

Mr Straccia said he had made a complaint about the Australian Communist Party’s street kitchen.

“Recently I phoned the council because on that Sunday there were six vehicles moving through the square,” he said.

“Now, if we were sitting there with our children or our dogs it would pose a risk and why cars are driving in a public space like that — I just don’t understand it.”

The owner of a neighbouring business, Café Troppo, agreed that moving the street kitchen is the right decision.

“I think it’s a positive thing to move it, as long as they’re still offering the service and the parklands are a really open, peaceful space — so I think the more space people have, the better,” café owner Alex Harris said.

“It is very residential around here so you do have conflict amongst residents, families, people just trying to live their day-to-day life and then obviously issues with homeless and under-privileged people.”

But some other residents disagree.

Another local resident, Jane, said moving the kitchen would not fix the area’s problem.

“How would we feel if we were banished further and further away?” she said.

“They have to have somewhere to go, like we all do. We are very lucky we have places to go, and we’re just privileged.”