The New South Wales attorney-general, Michael Daley, has been politely asked to maybe do something about the death of Bikram Lama, a Nepali rough sleeper known as “the birdman” for his affection for Hyde Park’s pigeons. Lama’s body lay unnoticed for up to a week in bushes near St James station, a detail that somehow didn't prompt an immediate inquiry without a formal request.
Lama came to Australia to study, but fell out of contact with his family and was deemed a non-resident by the time of his death. The City of Sydney estimates about one in five rough sleepers in the inner-city are non-residents, who typically can’t access social housing, social security, healthcare, or work rights - because nothing says “welcome to Australia” like being locked out of basic survival supports.
The independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, wrote to Daley on Friday requesting an inquest that would examine potential policy failures. “It’s heartbreaking but this has to be a wake-up call for policymakers,” Greenwich said, presumably hoping this time the alarm won’t be snoozed. Daley’s office said the coroner is still waiting for a brief of evidence from police before deciding on an inquest - because apparently bureaucracy moves slower than a pigeon waddling for crumbs.
In 2024, Guardian Australia investigated over 600 homelessness deaths and found a vast life expectancy gap with the general population, often due to systemic failures in housing, healthcare, and mental health support. Recent coronial inquests, like that of Sacha Lefebvre in Victoria, have probed the nexus between lack of housing and rough sleeper deaths. Greenwich stressed that an inquest into Lama’s death is crucial: “Unless we got to the bottom of this and what policy failures led to it, this will happen again.”