{"id":379534,"date":"2026-04-14T20:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/379534\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T20:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:48:10","slug":"tauranga-homeless-fined-as-council-and-police-clear-sulphur-point-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/379534\/","title":{"rendered":"Tauranga homeless fined as council and police clear Sulphur Point camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n One homeless person, Samantha Bradley, provided a video of a vehicle being towed.
\n Her own dog, Marley, was taken from her because it was not registered.\n <\/p>\n

She said this made her feel unsafe, and she had nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n

Tauranga City Council says the enforcement followed months of engagement, warnings and complaints from nearby residents about antisocial behaviour and was carried out under national legislation.<\/p>\n

Homeless advocates say the action has increased fear and anxiety within the community, pushing people into other suburban and public spaces without adequate support.<\/p>\n

The operation also comes amid wider national debate, with the Government proposing new police \u201cmove-on\u201d powers targeting rough sleeping and antisocial behaviour \u2013 legislation that homeless advocates strongly oppose.<\/p>\n

Affected woman speaks out<\/p>\n

\" Tauranga vehicle-dweller Samantha Bradley said council staff and police took her unregistered dog, Marley, from her. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s zero places to go,\u201d Bradley told Local Democracy Reporting. <\/p>\n

She said displacement was pushing people into suburban areas and places near schools.<\/p>\n

Bradley said she was a kiwifruit orchard supervisor before Covid-19. She wanted to work her way out of homelessness, but was struggling due to the number of fines she had received.<\/p>\n

She said three new fines brought her total to about $1400. <\/p>\n

These fines were for her unregistered Subaru car and unregistered dog. <\/p>\n

\"Vehicle-dwellerVehicle-dweller Samantha Bradley shows the notices of fines she received on Monday morning. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to get back to being a legit person. I\u2019m in the process of doing my KiwiSaver application.\u201d<\/p>\n

She questioned where she could legally go with an unregistered car.<\/p>\n

She suggested allowing vehicle-dwellers to stay overnight and leave in the morning, to reduce disruption while giving homeless people a lawful place to sleep. <\/p>\n

Council outlines its position<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga City Council regulatory and community services general manager Sarah Omundsen. Photo \/ Alex Cairns<\/p>\n

Tauranga City Council regulatory and community services general manager Sarah Omundsen said the council approached the situation with care and consideration. <\/p>\n

She said the site had attracted repeated complaints about antisocial behaviour, rubbish and roaming dogs.<\/p>\n

She said some of the people concerned had been occupying parts of the reserve for more than a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil staff engaged with eight individuals in relation to issues involving vehicles and\/or dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring these conversations, people were advised that any unregistered dogs could be impounded and any immobile vehicles may be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said three dogs were impounded. One dog was released the same day after being registered.<\/p>\n

She said people at the site had been repeatedly warned that enforcement would follow if vehicles remained illegal or dogs unregistered.<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga City Council vehicles at Sulphur Point during Monday’s operation. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n

She said fines were issued under national dog control and vehicle licensing laws.<\/p>\n

This is a national legal requirement, and no written or verbal warning is required; however, council staff verbally advised individuals of these requirements \u201con multiple occasions\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the very real challenges facing people experiencing hardship or homelessness, and this situation is not taken lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe encourage any person experiencing hardship or homelessness to contact support services, such as the Ministry of Social Development, which can help connect people with the appropriate support and accommodation options.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the people were not directed to move to any specific location. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome individuals chose to leave the area to avoid potential enforcement action.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council, in a statement, did not answer Local Democracy Reporting questions on vehicles being towed and how many fines were issued.<\/p>\n

\"TeTe Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor. Photo \/ David Hall<\/p>\n

Te Papa ward councillor Rod Taylor said he had been leading the push to get the area \u201csorted out\u201d since before Christmas. <\/p>\n

\u201cEssentially, it was becoming a very dysfunctional area.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited dog attacks, mental health issues and other serious incidents.<\/p>\n

He said about 15-20 people were living in their cars in the area and they had been there for several years.<\/p>\n

A \u201cwrap-around\u201d group planned the removal earlier this year, but the Mauao landslide delayed action.<\/p>\n

\" The overflow carpark at Sulphur Point. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n

Taylor said the overflow carpark had been used as a camp during summer despite signs showing this was not allowed. <\/p>\n

He said this was not enforced, but the carpark would shut for winter.<\/p>\n

He said a similar operation happened at Arataki Park three weeks ago, after complaints from residents. <\/p>\n

He said several other places were on the council\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n

\"TaurangaTauranga Marina Society manager Greg Prescott. Photo \/ Alex Cairns<\/p>\n

Tauranga Marina manager Greg Prescott said the marina had been pushing the council to move homeless people from Keith Allen Drive. <\/p>\n

He cited alcohol and drug use, abuse and mess.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of foreign folks coming into the marina from all over the world, and it\u2019s a really bad look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police acting area commander Inspector Zane Smith said staff were present to support council staff and did not intervene.<\/p>\n

Homeless people anxious: Advocate<\/p>\n

\"AwhinaAwhina House general manager Angela Wallace. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n

Awhina House co-chairperson Angela Wallace said the community involved was feeling anxious, unwanted and targeted. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re on edge that their stuff is going to be all packed up and taken away or that they\u2019ll be forced to move on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re already in a position where they\u2019ve got nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said people who had been moved on were turning up at suburban neighbourhoods and community centres, spreading the issue into other areas.<\/p>\n

She said it would have been great if there had been some support for them rather than \u201csome seemingly harsh actions being taken to move them on\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for her [Bradley] because she\u2019s a single woman living in her car. She\u2019s quite vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only protection she has is her dog; it\u2019s been taken from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallace said the Government should abandon the move-on order legislation it proposed earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\" Tauranga’s Sulphur Point boat ramp. Photo \/ Ayla Yeoman<\/p>\n

The Government has proposed giving police move-on orders that would target disruptive, disorderly or intimidating behaviour, rough sleeping and begging. <\/p>\n

It will amend the Summary Offences Act, and the police will be provided with the power to issue the orders once the legislation has been passed.<\/p>\n

The legislation has not yet been introduced to Parliament. <\/p>\n

\u2013 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n

Ayla Yeoman<\/a> is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.<\/p>\n

Correction<\/p>\n

Angela Wallace\u2019s title has been corrected from general manager to co-chairperson of Awhina House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One homeless person, Samantha Bradley, provided a video of a vehicle being towed. Her own dog, Marley, was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[95,806,10040,3470,5205,19631,42,681,43,423,675,88992,1227,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-379534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-as","10":"tag-camp","11":"tag-clear","12":"tag-council","13":"tag-fined","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-homeless","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-point","18":"tag-police","19":"tag-sulphur","20":"tag-tauranga","21":"tag-top-news","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-topnews","24":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}