‘Beggars and billionaires’: The culture war dividing Auckland’s council chamber
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Auckland Council will tell the Government to remove begging and rough sleeping from its proposed move-on order laws, warning the bill could displace vulnerable people and fail to address the root causes of homelessness.
Mayor Wayne Brown criticised the plan as “a simplistic solution to a very complicated problem”, saying Wellington needed to think harder about its own responsibilities - before turning his fire on one of his regular critics.
“One of the worst offences of begging is the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance, who are out there begging online all day long for supporters,” he said.
The vote exposed a clear split around the council table with some councillors arguing the bill risked criminalising poverty, while others said businesses, residents and visitors needed stronger tools to deal with disorder in the central city.
A number wanted to advocate for a night shelter.
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Councillors voted on Tuesday on the council's submission on the proposed bill, which would give police powers to direct people aged 14 or older to leave a public place for up to 24 hours.
The bill would allow move-on orders to be issued for behaviour including disorderly, intimidating or threatening conduct, disruptive behaviour, obstructing access to a business, breaching the peace, begging, rough sleeping or setting up makeshift shelters.
Breaching an order could result in a fine of up to $2000 or three months’ imprisonment.
The council’s submission will not oppose move-on orders outright, but recommends the Government remove begging and rough sleeping as standalone criteria.
“Homelessness and begging are not synonymous with anti-social or disorderly behaviour,” the council report said.
“Including rough sleeping and begging as 'behaviour' criteria has the potential to displace people who are already vulnerable and will not address the root causes that lead to people being in this situation.”
The report said the bill’s other grounds, such as disorderly, threatening, intimidating, disruptive or obstructive conduct, would still allow police to act where behaviour created a public safety or access issue.
Brown said the issue was more complex than the legislation allowed for, suggesting the council’s message to the Government should be blunt.
“You are responsible for people’s behaviour, we are responsible for places. I think you should think again, and have another crack at it.”
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki councillor Josephine Bartley wanted the council to oppose the bill entirely, saying she was concerned about where vulnerable people would end up.
She recalled coming across a man sleeping with a trolley in the Glen Innes McDonald's drive-through and calling social services, only to be told one service would not respond because he had been drinking alcohol.
Another service came from South Auckland, but the situation deteriorated badly.
“He defecated, rubbed it all over the walls and took off. So this social service doesn't want to deal with this ever again,” Bartley said.
“Essentially I moved him on. But now he's back on the streets.”
Waitākere councillor Shane Henderson also said he wanted the council to oppose the bill entirely, arguing the behaviour it targeted was already illegal.
“You're already not allowed to intimidate someone in the street,” he said.
Henderson said the bill could have a “chilling effect on democracy” and risked breaching the Bill of Rights.
“It effectively criminalises those who can't afford shelter. They can't pay the fines. They have no money. That's why they are there in the first place.”
He said there was a reason the Auckland City Mission had been based in the city centre for more than 100 years. “We need people where they are.”
Waitematā and Gulf councillor Mike Lee said homelessness had become “part of a culture war” and called for a more compassionate response.
“We live in a post-liberal era of beggars and billionaires. A-listers, the people who want helipads, and the destitute. That's a problem we need to face.”
A better submission, he said, would advocate moving people into care, not simply moving them from one public place to another.
“If they were lying on the street with broken legs or bleeding, an ambulance would arrive promptly. But because their illnesses are mental, our mental health sector is missing in action and that’s where the council should be putting pressure.”
But other councillors argued the drafted submission did not give enough weight to businesses dealing with the day-to-day reality of disorder on their doorsteps.
Howick councillor Maurice Williamson said the report would have been stronger if it had included direct evidence from affected businesses.
“I've talked to them and it's only anecdotal, but there are a handful of businesses who say it's just a nightmare,” he said.
He said some were dealing with people defecating near their front doors and urinating on windows, while paying “an enormous chunk of rates” and trying to attract customers.
“I'm just surprised that we are not at least trying to find out what those who are directly impacted think about our submission,” he said.
Rodney councillor Greg Sayers said mental health services were not being funded adequately, but argued the council also needed to consider the “average Aucklander” who had helped fund the transformation of the downtown area.
Sayers said about $4 billion had been invested in the downtown area over the past decade, alongside private investment and the $5.5b City Rail Link -- a combined figure he estimated at $10b.
He questioned how appropriate it was to have begging in that part of the city, saying some public spaces should be “ring-fenced” so ratepayers, visitors and businesses could access and enjoy them.
He said shoppers could perceive areas with frequent begging as unsafe, the hospitality industry relied on a positive customer experience, and Auckland was competing for tourism and events. A “cleaner, more orderly public realm” would help the city compete for overseas visitors.
The council's final submission will be sent to the justice select committee.