The Prime Minister says giving police power to crackdown on homelessness will mean cruise visitors will get to see Auckland at its best rather than having to dodge rough sleepers and abuse on downtown streets.
Chris Luxon told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking he expected plenty of pushback on the beefed up law to move on anyone sleeping rough or begging.
“The bigger issue is like Chuck and Mary coming in for their once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand on a cruise ship, walking around downtown and getting intimidated because someone’s sitting on the doorstop of a shop they’re trying to get into, threatening, shouting at them, abusing them. Right now it doesn’t trigger an offence under other pieces [of legislation], but by putting this in place that helps.”
When the gang patch ban was announced “I had everyone for a year and a half this is going to be operationally impossible to do” but arrests had begun immediately after the law came into effect.
“The police want these powers, they know these shopkeepers, they know these individuals in many cases,” he said.
“The police will use their judgment. And I want them to have these tools.”
The Government announced yesterday it would amend the Summary Offences Act so police could issue move-on orders to anyone aged 14 or older who is begging, sleeping rough or being “disorderly, disruptive, threatening or intimidating”.
A person can be fined up to $2000 or jailed for up to three months for breaching a move-on order.
The Salvation Army said they were “deeply concerned” the powers could risk disproportionately impacting people experiencing homelessness, who often have no safe alternative place to go.
“Simply moving people out of sight does not resolve the underlying issues of poverty, housing insecurity, and mental health challenges that drive street presence.”
The church said in their experience enforcement-led approaches could “criminalise vulnerability rather than reduce harm,” and urged the Government to consult widely with homelessness service providers and people with lived experience before implementing the proposed law.
“The focus should instead be on investment in housing, wraparound support, and outreach services that address root causes. Without these, the legislation could be ineffective, undermine human rights obligations under the New Zealand Bill of Rights, and exacerbate social exclusion.”
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith denied the policy unfairly targeted the most vulnerable people, saying it “certainly doesn’t criminalise poverty”.
“Our main streets and town centres have been blighted by disruption and disturbance. Businesses are declining as some bad behaviour goes unchecked. It needs to stop.”
This morning he told Newstalk ZB’s Andrew Dickens people didn’t feel comfortable or safe in New Zealand’s city centres, and the policy would help “reclaim our streets”.
“People don’t feel comfortable and safe in our CBDs, and we need to change that.
”We need to reclaim our streets so it’s a welcoming place for people who live there and work there and for visitors."
The law change comes despite police data showing public disorder offences are at a 10-year low, including in Auckland, although the data is not broken down at the CBD level.
Green Party co-leader and Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick has accused the Government of “ignoring evidence and punching down”, while Labour’s deputy leader and Auckland spokeswoman Carmel Sepuloni warned the orders would hurt “those with the least” without addressing the causes of homelessness.
“This is the National Government showing how little they care about Aucklanders who need support,” Sepuloni said.
Luxon’s interview also comes as global trade uncertainty rears its head again, with the imposition on the weekend of a blanket 15% tariff on imports into the US.
US President Donald Trump had initially announced a 10% tariff after the Supreme Court ruled most of his previous tariffs unlawful, before hiking it a day later. The tariff is in place for 150 days from February 24.
Trade Minister Todd McClay last week said “considerable uncertainty” remained around the tariffs’ impact on New Zealand exporters.
Luxon said it appeared beef, horticulture and kiwifruit were still exempt from the new 15% levy, but it was a “fluid situation”.
Exporters had become experts at moving to wherever they could make money, which was why the new free trade agreement with India was so important, he said.
Regarding new police powers allowing them to move on anyone sleeping rough or begging, Luxon said he expected plenty of pushback.