Community & Business
10 June, 2025
Looking after our most vulnerable
Local church elder Bruce Finlayson is calling on Toowoomba Regional Council to assist with providing services for Oakey’s needy and homeless by supporting a domestic violence shelter, and 24/7 laundry, shower and microwave facilities.
In a ten-minute presentation to Toowoomba Region’s Mayor and Councillors, the former accountant said that there were many people in need flying under the radar in Oakey who needed help.
“Homelessness is an issue,” he said.
“Believe it or not, we have quite a few homeless people in Oakey.
“Some people are homeless because they can’t get somewhere to live - they have a job, but live in their cars, in the Telstra telephone exchange, behind the commercial buildings in the main street - wherever they can find somewhere for some shelter.”
Mr Finlayson said he had met with the homeless people in his work with his church’s new soup kitchen.
“We talk with the homeless people and listen to their concerns,” he said.
“We also have frozen meals which we give out.”
Mr Finlayson said immediate challenges were the need for 24/7 microwave access to cook meals, a laundry and shower.
“We need a 24/7 laundry - since the Kerrytown laundry closed there is nowhere for homeless people to wash their clothes,” he said.
Domestic violence is an issue in town with the Oakey Magistrates Court spending much of its time hearing cases of domestic abuse, and Mr Finlayson covered this issue, too, in his address.
“Parents are struggling - there’s a lack of cohesion in a lot of homes,” he said.
“There’s a lot of broken people in Oakey - broken lives, broken homes.
“We’ve talked this morning about domestic and family violence - Oakey is not immune from that.”
The Oakey Community Christian Church elder said his congregation was looking to purchase a building for short-term crisis accommodation and asked Council if it could assist with the purchase.
“We don’t have any paid pastors/ministers and we give away everything we raise,” he said.
“We want that building for emergency/short term accommodation.
“We’ve talked about domestic violence.
“If someone comes to us, at the moment we put them up in our homes.
“And that’s okay, but it does create some issues.”
In a wide-ranging talk, Mr Finlayson also claimed many overseas workers at the abattoir were being taken advantage of by their labour hire companies.
“(Oakey is) very multicultural because of people who have come... to work in the abattoirs particularly,” he said.
“Of course, that brings in language and comprehension issues, so we do see situations where these people, who’ve come to Australia to work on special visas, do sometimes get taken advantage of with renting the properties and the rents they get charged.”
Mr Finlayson said there was not enough industry in town to create jobs for all school leavers.
“The young people at the school (I speak to) are quite despondent - they say ‘What’s the use of trying at school because I can’t get a job?” he said
“The youth - there’s nothing constructively for them to do (in Oakey) outside of school.”
“Looking at the great facilities the high school has - millions of dollars in infrastructure in that school and for three months of the year, in the school holidays, nothing happens.
“Being an accountant myself, I see that as a waste.”
Mr Finlayson said he did not want to concentrate just on the negatives.
“There’s a lot of positives happening in Oakey,” he said.
He told the Council that Oakey’s churches work together closely in organising events.
These events, such as the weekly community barbecue on Thursday afternoons in Rotary Park, and the Seniors Morning Tea, are well patronised and rated highly by attendees.
Mr Finlayson talked about how his church, Oakey Community Christian Church, puts on a free Christmas Day Breakfast which attracts 80-100 non-church associated people, and is supported by New Acland Coal Mine and the Oakey RSL.
“We’ve made some great connections, particularly with the people who come from overseas to work in the abattoir,” he said.
In question time, Cr James O’Shea asked Mr Finlayson if there were any buildings in particular he was looking at for the shelter.
Mr Finlayson responded that there was one building the church is looking at, but it did not have the funds to purchase it.
Mr Finlayson’s presentation was made on behalf of the Oakey Community Christian Church, and was given via Council's forum of Deputations of Petitions received via Appointment.
Do you agree with Mr Finlayson’s concerns?
What other needs do Oakey’s underprivileged have?
Send us your thoughts via email to editorial@oakeychampion.com.au
