Thousands of New Zealanders are calling on the Government to abandon its controversial move-on orders legislation, arguing homelessness, poverty and vulnerability should be met with housing and support rather than greater police powers.
More than 4,700 people have backed an open letter opposing the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill, adding to widespread opposition already expressed through Parliament’s select committee process.
The campaign, led by Family for Every Child, argues the legislation risks criminalising people experiencing poverty and homelessness and originally exposed children as young as 14 to police move-on powers.
The organisation says the Government should withdraw the legislation and instead focus on tackling the underlying causes of homelessness and child poverty.
Children removed from latest version
The mounting pressure has already forced a significant change.
When the Government introduced the legislation, police would have been able to issue move-on orders to anyone aged 14 or older.
Those orders could require a person to leave an area and stay away for up to 24 hours. The original legislation covered behaviour including disorder, intimidation, obstruction of businesses, breaches of the peace, begging, rough sleeping and behaviour indicating an intention to inhabit a public place.
However, following consideration by Parliament’s Justice Committee, 14 to 17-year-olds have been removed from the proposed regime, meaning the powers would now apply only to adults.
The committee has also recommended other changes, including narrowing provisions around begging and reducing the proposed maximum fine for breaching an order.
But opponents say changing the age threshold does not resolve the fundamental problem with the legislation.
More than 7,000 submissions — overwhelming opposition
The parliamentary process itself revealed the depth of concern.
More than 7,000 submissions were made on the legislation, with reporting indicating more than 98 percent opposed the Bill in its original form.
Opposition has come from organisations working with homelessness and vulnerable communities as well as legal, social service and other groups concerned about whether moving people from one public space to another actually addresses the causes of homelessness.
Family for Every Child says people sleeping rough frequently have nowhere else to go, meaning simply ordering them to leave an area risks displacing rather than helping them.
The organisation has argued that investment should instead be directed towards reducing child poverty and homelessness and strengthening support for whānau and communities.
Government says communities need safer streets
The Government maintains the legislation is about giving police another tool to deal with disruptive and intimidating behaviour in public spaces.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has argued businesses, residents and visitors have faced increasing disruption in town centres and that police need the ability to intervene before behaviour escalates into more serious offending.
A move-on order itself would not constitute a criminal charge. Enforcement would occur where someone failed to comply with an order.
The latest version of the Bill also contains additional safeguards, including requirements for Police to report on how frequently the orders are used and the ages of people receiving them.
The legislation would also require a formal review of the move-on regime after three years.
For Māori, homelessness remains the bigger question
For Te Ao Māori, the debate cannot easily be separated from the disproportionate exposure of Māori whānau to housing insecurity, poverty and homelessness.
The fundamental question is whether policing the visible consequences of homelessness does anything to resolve why people are sleeping on streets, begging or attempting to inhabit public spaces in the first place.
While removing children from the legislation addresses one of the strongest criticisms of the original Bill, opponents remain concerned that vulnerable adults could still find themselves repeatedly moved from one location to another without receiving the housing, health, addiction, mental health or social support they need.
The Government says the powers are about restoring safety and confidence in public spaces.
Its opponents say you cannot police your way out of homelessness.
With thousands signing petitions and more than 7,000 people already engaging through the parliamentary submission process, the political battle over move-on orders is far from over.
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