Opposition parties and advocates for homeless people warn that a ban could simply move the problem elsewhere and cause more harm. Photo \/ Finn Blackwell, RNZ<\/p>\n
\u201cMove-on orders would be one of the things that you\u2019d want to be considering. But obviously … you\u2019ve got to make sure that you\u2019ve got the right support structures in place to support people as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re open to some new suggestions\u2019<\/p>\n
Asked for more details, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said he had been tasked with ensuring police had the tools they needed to tackle public disorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s blindingly obvious to everybody that the CBD, particularly of Auckland, but [also] a lot of places, have been characterised by disorder and real concern around public safety,\u201d Goldsmith said. \u201cWe\u2019re open to some new suggestions in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked specifically whether he would consider a ban on rough sleeping, Goldsmith said: \u201cWe\u2019re working our way through those issues … when we\u2019ve got something to announce, we\u2019ll announce that.\u201d<\/p>\n
National MP Ryan Hamilton has put forward a member\u2019s bill to give police the power to direct a person or group to leave an area if their presence was causing distress, disorder or a nuisance. The bill has not yet been pulled from the ballot.<\/p>\n
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he supported giving police more tools to move homeless people on from public areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not just going to pick up someone that\u2019s in a vulnerable position and drop them off in another vulnerable position. You\u2019re actually going to take them to a place of safety. That\u2019s the whole idea of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Housing Minister Chris Bishop. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said no legislation was currently being drafted but \u201ca range of things [were] under consideration\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure the Auckland CBD is a place that people are proud of<\/a>, and I think most reasonable people would say it\u2019s not at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n Bishop said his focus as minister had been on finding more homes for rough sleepers, pointing to a \u201csignificant investment\u201d into 300 more Housing First places.<\/p>\n He acknowledged, however, that only a couple of spots had become available since that announcement in September.<\/p>\n \u201cThe providers are working at pace to get those houses available. It\u2019s not just something that you can do immediately … the intention is for all of those places to be contracted and available with people in them by Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all ministers seemed to be across the consideration. Deputy Prime Minister and Act leader David Seymour seemed bemused by questions and said he had not been a part of any conversations on banning rough sleepers from city centres.<\/p>\n \u201cGoldie talks about a lot of things. Hasn\u2019t talked to me about that,\u201d Seymour said.<\/p>\n \u201cI just ask the question: what happens next? Things have to be practical. They have to work. So if you ban homelessness<\/a>, where do people actually go? And that\u2019s why I said, you\u2019re better to actually build homes, engage community housing providers, get people a place to go. That\u2019s what actually works.\u201d<\/p>\n Opposition parties push back<\/p>\n