On Tuesday 15th September the government decided to
process their legislation Summary Offences (Move-on Orders)
Amendment Bill under urgency.
Family for Every Child
says the strong response from both their supporters and the
public demonstrates growing concern that legislation that
would give Police new powers to issue move-on orders to
children aged 14 and over. It also raises questions about
whether children’s rights are honoured and respected in
New Zealand.
There was considerable opposition to this
Bill as 98% of the 7,618 submissions to the Select Committee
opposed the Bill. One of the biggest concerns raised was the
impact of this bill on criminalising homeless youth. As
such, the Justice Committee recommended that the age be
raised from 14- to 18-years.
Family for Every Child
presented an open letter, supported by more than 4,700
signatures, to Parliament tomorrow, calling on the
Government to withdraw the proposed Summary Offences
(Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill. The
open letter, which has attracted more than four times
its original target of 1,000 signatures, was formally
presented at Parliament at 12.30 PM, Tuesday 15 September by
Family for Every Child Programme Advisor Dr Rob Thomson, to
Labour MP’s Hon Phil Twyford and Camilla Belich,
Spokesperson for Justice, Public Services, Tamatha Paul and
Ricardo Menéndez March (Green Party) at the steps of
Parliament.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
This letter was presented to parliament by
Hon Camilla Belich during the debate.
Family for Every
Child programme advisor and spokesperson Dr Rob Thomson
says:
“Although we are pleased that vulnerable young
people have not been included in this legislation, this is
not a victory. The legislation will still punish families
who are already among the most vulnerable in
society.”
“Today is a dark day for our most
at-risk youth. The government has created a new ‘Serious
Youth Offender’ label, created boot camps which are a
pathway to prison, and given additional powers for staff to
use physical force on them.”
“At a time where
other countries, such as the United Kingdom, are
decriminalising homelessness, shifting from punishment to
prevention, and investing in strategies to tackle
homelessness for good, our country is going backwards.”
– link
here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rough-sleeping-no-longer-a-crime-as-vagrancy-act-repealed
Other
international models such as the “duty to assist” in
Wales (Housing (Wales) Act 2014) legally require local
authorities to secure accommodation for those at risk of
homelessness. – link
here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rough-sleeping-no-longer-a-crime-as-vagrancy-act-repealed
“We
should feel ashamed by the levels of poverty in this country
and that we have any young people sleeping on the streets,
especially as homelessness amongst young people is on the
increase. They need our support, not to be
criminalised.”
“A move-on order requires somewhere
to move on to. For any person who has nowhere safe to sleep,
simply telling them to move on does not solve the
problem.”
“We should be supporting people and
whānau experiencing poverty and homelessness, not creating
new pathways to criminalise them.”
About Family for
Every Child
Every child deserves to grow up in a
safe and loving family. Family for Every Child has been
working in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2022 to make this a
reality. Family for Every Child is a global alliance of 51
local organisations working in 40 countries to improve the
lives of children and families in
need.
