Tauranga City Council bans begging

Tuesday, 20 November 2018

Opponents of the 'begging ban' say there are already agencies to enforce harassment and the bylaw will do little to help (FILE).

A newly passed bylaw that will ban begging in Tauranga could cost the council $215,000 a year to enforce.

Tauranga City councillors on Tuesday hotly debated how to combat homelessness, eventually voting 6-5 to implement the controversial Street Use and Public Places Bylaw, which prohibits rough sleeping or begging within 5 metres of a retail building.

Begging and rough sleeping will be prohibited within 5 metres of any building in Tauranga CBD (FILE).

Councillors against the bylaw said passing the law would do nothing to solve homelessness or begging while those for it argued it was a necessary 'line in the sand'.

Reports of begging gangs in Greerton using standover tactics have sparked calls for action from retailers. Council reacted by hiring security guards to patrol the area.

Tauranga City Councillor Terry Molloy put his job on the line if the proposed begging ban bylaw failed to make an impact.

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Councillor Terry Molloy moved the motion and said he would 'happily resign' if the bylaw failed to make a difference.

'I'm happy to put my job on the line,' he said.

Councillor John Robson was vocal against the bylaw saying it goes against staff advice and could be challenged in law.

'We are taking an action we know will fail,' he said.

'We shouldn't be in this place we should be providing $215,000 or more to provide facilities for victims and provide for them. Suggesting to clear the streets when there is nowhere else to go is treating people like rubbish.'

Councillor Leanne Brown said the bylaw does little to combat the homelessness problem.

'It's not going to make the issue go away,' she said.

'The numbers of hidden homeless are going to increase and how do we help them.'

Deputy mayor Kelvin Clout said the bylaw speaks out against business owners and community and sent a strong message.

'It's time we put a line in the sand,' he said.

'[The bylaw] has been worded carefully to limit the affect of it to three demographic areas.'

Councillor Larry Baldock supported the bylaw but said it was not a 'silver bullet'.

'I believe its a simple step in the right direction,' he said.

'It's a message to ourselves that we are not going to tolerate this behaviour.'

The enforcement costs were listed in public documents which suggested a $215,000 would be needed to employ officers and endure other costs.

An eleventh hour amendment Robson saw the bylaw include a direction to not have any budgeted figure for enforcement be added to the annual plan.

The public galley heckled councillors as they spoke and were upset with the decision.

He Kaupapa Kotahitanga Trust Tauranga Chairwomen Angela Wallace said the bylaw is pointless as there were already harassment laws that could be enforced by the police.

'It's not council's role to do that [enforce harassment],' she said