Government announces homeless move-on orders - for all town centres | RNZ
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The government has confirmed it will give police the power to issue move-on orders - not just in Auckland, but all town centres across the country.The powers...

Failure to follow the order is subject to a $2,000 fine or up to 3 months in jail.

The behaviours mentioned in the video (that are not in the draft explanatory note pdf):

  • Behavior indicating an intent to inhabit a public place
  • Rough sleeping
  • All forms of begging
  • Breaching the peace
  • Obstructing or impeding someone from entering a business
  • Disorderly, disruptive, threatening, or intimidating behavior

Hon Mark Mitchel (Minister of Police) chimes in at 10:23 to acknowledge that the people subject to the order are vulnerable people.

At 17:54 a reporter asks about descretionary enforcement and Mitchel confirms the planned use of selective enforcement which increases the risk of targeting marginalised populations.

The YT comments are gold.

Full RNZ article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/587562/government-announces-homeless-move-on-orders-for-all-town-centres-not-just-auckland

This was also reported on in November '25.

  • SaneMartigan@aussie.zone
    6·
    15 hours ago

    And I thought Straya’s laws about genocide protests suddenly jumped ahead in fascism. This is some next level shit. Starving/Broke? You’re not allowed to beg? Heavy shit NZ.

    • BaconWrappedEnigma@lemmy.nzOP
      11·
      15 hours ago

      There’s some type of irony in the penalty being free housing (jail), or blood from a stone ($2k penalty).

      I was just looking for the cost of keeping someone in jail fro 90 days and it looks like Bernard HIckey beat me to it:

      Govt threatens to imprison homeless for 90 days at a cost of $49,680 per person Govt to empower Police to ‘move on’ homeless with threat of three months prison, costing taxpayer $552 per person per night; Govt adds 2,000 prison beds since election & delivers 420 new homes

      From: The Kaka https://thekaka.substack.com/p/govt-threatens-to-imprison-homeless

      • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
        1·
        3 hours ago

        penalty being free housing (jail),

        Watch as more homeless people exploit* this loophole. 90 days in jail is way better than being homeless in winter.

        * it’d be cheaper and more humane to just house these people

  • Splenetic@lemmy.nz
    2·
    12 hours ago

    And where will these homeless move on to Paul? They don’t have homes. They’re just making an inner city problem a suburb problem.

    • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
      1·
      3 hours ago

      That kind of the point. They want to get these super vulnerable people out of the area that they live and work in, where they go they don’t care, as long as it’s out of their sight.