The prime minister says he wants the Auckland CBD to \u2018look its best\u2019 and the mayor agrees \u2013 but social agencies warn a move-on law will backfire, writes Catherine McGregor in today\u2019s extract from The Bulletin.<\/p>\n
To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday,\u00a0sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brown backs government bid to \u2018clean up\u2019 the city<\/p>\n The government\u2019s confirmation that it is looking at ways to give police new powers to move on homeless people from public spaces has prompted fierce debate over how to balance safety and compassion.\u00a0As Tom Dillane reports in the Herald<\/a>, the National proposal is in such early stages that the other coalition parties were apparently unaware of its existence, \u201conly hearing about it on Tuesday when Labour leader Chris Hipkins started probing Prime Minister Christopher Luxon about it in the House.\u201d<\/p>\n Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has welcomed the government\u2019s involvement, telling Dillane addressing the CBD\u2019s \u201cscruffy\u201d characters is \u201cexactly what they should be focusing on\u201d. As to where the homeless should be moved to, he suggested they could go \u201cout into the countryside\u201d where they would cause less \u201ceconomic damage\u201d. \u201cThere\u2019s plenty of freedom camping places they can go to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Critics say law would only shift the problem<\/p>\n Social agencies and opposition MPs have condemned the idea as inhumane and ineffective. Aaron Hendry of homelessness charity Kick Back\u00a0told The Spinoff\u2019s Emma Gleason<\/a>\u00a0it could have \u201cserious and potentially fatal consequences\u201d, particularly for homeless youth. \u201cPeople who have nowhere else to go will be driven from the city centre and forced to take shelter in more dangerous and unsafe environments.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Herald<\/a>\u00a0(paywalled), Simon Wilson questioned police minister Mark Mitchell\u2019s assurance that those moved on would be taken \u201cto a place of safety\u201d. Wilson suggested Mitchell\u2019s words ring hollow when Auckland alone needs around 1000 more Housing First places \u2013 and the same number of emergency beds \u2013 to meet demand.\u00a0And in the Sunday Star-Times<\/a>\u00a0(paywalled), Andrea Vance contrasted the plan with the government\u2019s eagerness to spend $6.3 million bringing Michelin restaurant inspectors to New Zealand. The government is \u201cmoving fast\u201d, she wrote, \u201cclearing the slums for the sommeliers.\u201d<\/p>\n The law as it stands<\/p>\n Police already have powers to act when people are violent, intoxicated or otherwise breaking the law. Local government expert David Collins\u00a0told RNZ\u2019s Anneke Smith<\/a>\u00a0councils can adopt bylaws to address rough sleeping, but any such rules must still comply with the Bill of Rights Act. \u201cYou can\u2019t just ban anything that\u2019s a nuisance,\u201d he said. Brown has hinted that Auckland Council might preempt the government\u2019s law change by strengthening its own bylaws, though a spokesperson told The Spinoff no work is under way.<\/p>\n Some politicians, including\u00a0Chris Hipkins<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Green MP Tamatha Paul<\/a>, have accused the government of trying to \u201ccriminalise homelessness\u201d, but move-on orders are not the same thing as criminal penalties: they would likely allow police to direct a person to leave an area for up to 24 hours, not to arrest or fine them. Still, opponents argue such orders risk harassment of vulnerable people without addressing the lack of housing.<\/p>\n Lessons from overseas<\/p>\n Other countries\u2019 experiences show how difficult enforcement can be. In many Australian cities, police regularly issue move-on notices to rough sleepers under public-order laws. In Sydney,\u00a0the Guardian\u2019s Caitlin Cassidy reports<\/a>\u00a0that homeless residents at Central Station are woken at 6am every morning and moved from a sheltered area to a place where they have to \u201chuddle on the floor, exposed to the elements\u201d.<\/p>\n