Calls for inquest into int’l student’s death

“The NSW Attorney-General is facing calls to initiate a coronial inquest into the death of an international student rough sleeper whose body went undiscovered for six days in one of Sydney’s busiest thoroughfares. Nepali national Bikram Lama, 32, was found dead in bushes near St James station at Hyde Park, in December last year. It was estimated about 100,000 people walked past his body each day before it was found by staff. Mr Lama had been in Australia to study computer science, but he fell on hard times and was unable to access support services because he was not a permanent resident, the Guardian reported. His death has reignited concerns about the number of rough sleepers who cannot access support services because they are nonresidents. The City of Sydney identified 346 people were sleeping rough in Sydney’s CBD last year, a 24 per cent increase from the previous year. About 18 per cent of those were not Australian residents. Independent MP Alex Greenwich has written to the Attorney-General to initiate a coronial inquest into Mr Lama’s death to understand if policy failures led to his demise. In his letter Mr Greenwich said it was unclear why Mr Lama started to sleep rough or what could have prevented him from becoming homeless. “We know that people on temporary visas do not get access to the health and welfare support that can help other people who are homeless get back on their feet,” he said. “A State Coronial inquest into Bikram’s death that also considers policy failures, the role of universities in the welfare of foreign students, service gaps, and impediments to access to healthcare and support for non-resident people experiencing homelessness would help us understand how the system let Bikram and other homeless people down and what we can do better.” A NSW Attorney-General spokesman said the coroner is waiting for a brief of evidence from police. “Once that is received, the court will review the matter and determine whether it will proceed to inquest as per usual processes,” a spokesman said. Homelessness NSW has backed the call for an inquest into Mr Lama’s death, saying the gaps in services and policies need to be identified to ensure it never happens again. “The death of every person experiencing homelessness is a tragedy and very often a systematic failure,” said CEO Don Rowe. “We strongly support mandating the reporting of homelessness deaths to the coroner to help determine where, when and how deaths occur.” St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney has been calling for urgent government reform to assist nonresidents in crisis and facing homelessness. Non-residents are unable to access Medicare-funded healthcare, emergency shelter or other support services, making them one the most vulnerable groups in the community that rely on charities for food and essentials. St Vincent’s Homelessness Health Service unit manager Erin Longbottom said Mr Lama’s tragic death highlighted gaps in services available to non-residents. “We are calling on state and federal governments to change the current system to allow nonresidents access to the support they need in a crisis,” she said.

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