A hard-working Aussie who wasthreatened with an $800 fine for sleeping in his van has called out his local council for targeting the most vulnerable members of society during a cost-of-living crisis.
Film set builder Paul Tyler, 52, saysthe Gold Coast is the worst offender when it comes to punitive finesafter he was recently threatened with the hefty penalty.
Tyler,who has lived and worked in his van for four and a half years, was sleeping in a car park and not bothering anyone when he heard tapping on his vehicle's door.
Gold Coast Council workers and police officers identified themselves then asked him why he was in his van and why he was sleeping there.
Even though Tyler worksfull-time in thearea, he was threatened with a fine of more than $800 if they caught him sleeping in his vehicle again within the council area.
'The fine for sleeping in your van used to be $667, it's now over $800,' he said.
'Why do they target people that are in their vans, people sleeping in their cars, and then have such a ridiculous fine?
'You're targeting people who are doing it harder than others, and then you're fining them phenomenal amounts of money.
Paul Tyler, who was threatened with an $800 fine for sleeping in a van, has called out his local council for targeting the most vulnerable members of society during a cost-of-living crisis
The film set builder, 52, says the Gold Coast is the worst offender when it comes to punitive fines after he was recently threatened with the hefty penalty
'And the Gold Coast is the worst out of everywhere that I've stayed at.'
The travelling artist told Daily Mail Australia the steep fine of $800 'would impact anybody' - but especially those doing it tough.
'I don't need help, but there are other people in worse predicaments - and what does it do for them?' he said.
'I can look after myself, but other people can't. The fine just creates bigger problems.
'Where is their moral compass?'
Tyler said his work building sets takes him to different locations where he must stay formonths at a time, so living in his van is flexible andeconomically viable.
'I can't get short-term rentals - the prices are out of control,' he said.
'I would love to stay in Queensland, I would love to rent and stay here, but I don't have ongoing work. Also I don't have a rental history.'
Tyler was once the owner of his own home and owner three successful businesses, but they went 'down the tubes' in late 2017.
Tyler, who has lived and worked in his van for four and a half years, was sleeping in a car park and not bothering anyone when he heard tapping on his vehicle's door
He eventually gotback on his feet working in New Zealand - but thenCovid struck and he moved back to Australia, where he bought a van out of 'necessity'.
And now the cost of living has risen sharply, Tyler said living in a van had become more expensive than it used to be.
'Everybody always says to me, "You must be saving so much money living in your van," but sometimes I wonder where my money goes,' he said.
'Even in a van you notice the prices go up, like fuel and groceries, which have risen so much since Covid.'
Tyler said he'd beenthreatened withfinesfor sleeping in his van on the Gold Coast many times before,and in 2021 he was fined more than once.
'I wasn't at a beach, I was at the other side of the highway in the bush,' he said.
'When the council and police turn up, they warn you, the police take photos of your van. They document the s**t out of you and then tell you your vehicle is marked,' he said.
'Two weeks later I was given a $667 fine.'
The artist never had issues sleeping in his van in other towns along the east coast of Australia (pictured in the Blue Mountains, NSW)
Tyler said weeks later he was again caught and issued with another $667 fine, with the council worker saying, 'Every time I see you, you are going to get a fine.'
'I've stayed at every beach and every town along the east coast of Australia, all the way up to Cape Tribulation - and multiple times,' he said.
'So I know how how councils are with vans. And the Gold Coast is the only place in Australia that hunt vans.
'A police officer and a council worker in two separate vehicles, going around together.'
The travelling artist told Daily Mail Australia the steep fine of $800 'would impact anybody' - but especially those doing it tough
Tyler said the council uses the threat of fines to force people to pay to sleep in their caravan parks - but theyare too expensive.
'It is upwards of $50 a night for an unpowered site - which is giving me nothing but a shower, but showers are easy to get elsewhere,' he said.
A City of Gold Coast spokesperson said the council was trying to create public areas that are both safe and accessible 'for all residents, visitors and businesses'.
'People who are found camping illegally or sleeping in vehicles on roads or parks are educated about appropriate places to sleep before being asked to move on,' they added.
'If the person is a repeat offender, a fine may be issued. The City offers safe and legal camping at our Tourist parks.
The council went on to say if a person in homeless, a Public Space Liaison Officer 'will help them find suitable and sustainable housing'.
They noted that in the last three years, there had been a 40 per cent increase in reports of illegal camping and homelessness.
The Federal Member for Moncrieff, Angie Bell MP, told Daily Mail Australia the fine was indictive of a wider housing problem.
'I feel for all those forced to live in their vehicles, especially children,' she said.
'Ultimately, they are paying the price for Labor's failure to deliver adequate housing – at a state and federal level – along with the failure to curb their home grown inflation.'
Member for Surfers Paradise John-Paul Langbroek MP told Daily Mail Australia the current situation of people being forced to live in their cars was a failure by the state.
'While this is a City of Gold Coast enforcement issue, the housing crisis has been created by a State Labor government that has overseen a major decline in land release, refused to work with the community housing sector, and presided over minor increases in social housing numbers compared to the need in our community.' he said.
