Lillian
Hanly, Political reporter
The
government’s move-on orders didn’t receive the backing of
key ministries, the Housing and Justice Ministers confirmed
on Tuesday.
Chris Bishop says the Housing Ministry
wasn’t supportive of the government’s move on orders, and
Paul Goldsmith says the Justice Ministry hasn’t
“enthusiastically embraced” most of the law and order
policies put forward by the government.
“But that’s
not who was elected. We were elected, and that’s why we’re
pushing on with what we’ve done,” Goldsmith said.
The
powers announced in February will mean police can move on
rough sleepers or people displaying disorderly behaviour as
young as 14-years-old.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop
said the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD)
was consulted on the move-on orders, but “it won’t surprise
you to learn they weren’t supportive” he
confirmed.
“But ultimately, officials provide their
views, and government takes the advice and makes
decisions.
“You don’t necessarily need to
agree.”
MHUD
was concerned around a “housing instability point of view”
said Bishop, and that was a “completely legitimate
viewpoint”.
Bishop said it was legitimate that people
questioned where people would be moved on to, but he wanted
people who were in unstable housing situations, who were
sleeping rough, or “causing a bit of mischief in the CBD” to
go somewhere and get the support that was
required.
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“We’ve made that support available. And if
we need to do more, we can.”
Goldsmith was asked about
the Justice Ministry’s advice to the government on the
move-on orders, and said he couldn’t remember the “preferred
option” off the top of his head.
“They pointed out a
range of opinions, and the government had its view that it
wanted to progress these move on orders, and that’s what
we’re doing.
“We’ve got a clear mandate to restore law
and order,” he said, referencing the gang patch ban, tougher
sentencing provisions and ending Section 27 cultural
reports.
“None of these things the ministry was
enthusiastic about, but that’s what we’ve got an obligation
to do.”
He
said official advice was still worthy to receive, but the
government considered their views and opinions, and in the
light of “other information that we receive”, such as from
the Ministerial Advisory Group on Retail Crime.
Asked
if Sunny Kaushal was more qualified than Ministry of Justice
officials, Goldsmith said it wasn’t a question of
qualifications, but about understanding the issues facing
New Zealanders who want to feel safe in their community and
retailers who want to feel safe going about their
business.
He rejected the notion officials were “out
of touch”.
“I’m just saying that we don’t always agree
with the advice that we get from
officials.”
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