Richard Foley says Wagga beach baby death shows crisis — A B C News
Police called to a homeless encampment near Wagga beach on the Murrumbidgee River on Saturday found a 37-year-old woman with two infants, one of whom was dead, after a b c news report on the case drew attention to the scene. The surviving baby and the mother were taken to hospital, and the infant remained in a critical condition on Monday afternoon.
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances. Local media reported that the woman had recently given birth, placing the death inside a wider housing problem that local officials say has pushed more people into riverbank camping in Wagga Wagga.
Richard Foley on Wagga Wagga
Richard Foley, a local councillor, said the death was a tragedy and argued that the housing crisis had gotten out of hand. He said, “We’ve now had a death of a young baby, a newborn baby, in a tent,” and added, “A newborn child is deceased, and another one is in a serious condition. The mother was escorted to hospital on the weekend, which is just unacceptable.”
Foley also said, “Let’s face it, we’ve seen this type of thing across all cities,” but that “it’s growing in number out here. And the rental availability in this city is beyond a crisis. This is an emergency.” He said the river encampment had grown bigger each year.
Wagga Wagga Housing Figures
A local council paper in 2024 said there were 257 homeless people in the Wagga Wagga area, up 71% from eight years earlier. Foley said there was a lack of public housing in the area and that the state government had promised to build more social housing, but those dwellings would only replace the existing stock.
He also said, “A line in the sand has got to be drawn. People are sick and tired of the political class, which is just totally disconnected.” The rental vacancy rate in the Riverina was at a record low of 0.6% in January 2025, a figure that leaves very little room for people trying to secure a home quickly.
Rose Jackson Comment
Rose Jackson, the NSW homelessness minister, was being sought for comment. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances, and the infant’s condition on Monday afternoon was the immediate point of concern for the family and the hospital team caring for the two survivors.
