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The Wellington City
Mission has taken its message on Move On Orders directly to
the Beehive, projecting the words “Move On to Where?”
onto the Executive Wing of Parliament.
This projection
is accompanied by a video message from Wellington City
Missioner Rev Murray Edridge, challenging
the Government to find real solutions to rough sleeping
rather than simply “hiding our problems”.
This
activity is intended to keep rough sleeping and the
Government’s new Move-on Orders legislation firmly on the
election agenda as New Zealand heads towards the 7 November
general election.
The Wellington City Mission urges
all political parties and members of parliament to state
their position on this legislation, and commit to removing
rough sleeping from the Move-on Orders
legislation.
The legislation, which was passed under
urgency last month, includes provisions allowing Police to
issue move-on orders in response to somebody rough sleeping.
This inclusion fails to make the critical distinction
between people’s behaviours and people’s
circumstances.
The Wellington City Mission, along with
many others, warned that this provision disadvantages the
most vulnerable in our community and risks criminalising
homelessness, treating it as a matter of public disorder
rather than circumstances requiring an effective social
response.
Every day, the Wellington City Mission works
alongside people experiencing homelessness in our community.
The organisation is committed to looking at effective social
responses to rough sleeping. We will continue to engage
constructively with Government and other agencies on
measures that improve public safety while ensuring people
experiencing homelessness are supported and
protected.
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