Move-on order fears already pushing rough sleepers out of city - social service provider

Fear surrounding the incoming move on orders is already pushing rough sleepers of out Auckland's central city, says a social service provider.

Oral submissions on the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill were heard by the Justice committee on Monday, with most speaking in opposition to its introduction.

Lifewise is an Auckland-based community organisation which supports children, the elderly and people on the street. Chief executive Pam Elgar told RNZ her organisation had seen homeless people "shifting" out of the CBD into other neighbouring suburbs.

She said it was because of fears around the impending move-on legislation.

"We're all creatures of habit, so when you find a place that's relatively safe - a place you feel okay in - whether it's sleeping under a bridge or in the doorways of a property, and you're no longer there, it means something has triggered that fear.

"It's not a safe space to be on the street, so if people are moving around as we believe they are, then that's a concern. We believe that's triggered because of the distrust in this government and this legislation coming in," she said.

The latest Auckland Council data showed there were 706 people known to be sleeping in cars, streets and local parks in January, up from 653 in January last year but down from a peak of 940 in September 2025.

Elgar said that did not match up with what her staff and other organisations were seeing.

"We believe they're moving, and you can't count them, because our experience is the people coming into Merge are increasing, the people coming into Auckland City Mission are increasing."

She said data on the number of homeless people in Auckland was conducted by council complacence officers who only covered a small part of the city.

"The count that the compliance officers are doing can't be extrapolated to make points about homelessness. It is simply a count on one day about where they are and it isn't telling us that people are better off because the numbers are lower.

"Let me be really clear, the compliance officers are simply doing their job... I believe public servants are doing the best that they can do, but they are combined within a cohort of responsibility that they have to do."

'The hardest thing is just finding them'

Lifewise outreach worker Kat Feo finds temporary accommodation rough sleepers and told RNZ clients from all over the country are flocking to Auckland.

She said it was getting hard to keep track of where they all are.

"I've come by some that's come from Wellington, Christchurch, Rotorua, Hamilton... a lot of them have no contact, so we just try our best to outreach and try and find them whatever areas that we cover."

While getting people temporary accommodation was not too difficult because of the connections Likewise had, there were still many barriers, Feo said.

"The hardest thing is just finding them or having to activate their benefits through MSD, just supporting and advocating for them and getting their ID before we place them into temporary housing.

"We've got one car, we've got to share the car amongst six of us, so that's one barrier and just having to try and find ways to try and get them into it." she said.

Victoria Crawford - originally from Wellington - came to Auckland in 2024 for rehab after a three-and-a-half year stint in prison.

Crawford told RNZ she was released from prison without any accommodation to go to and had been struggling to find support since.

"I'm relying on working income for financial assistance and I'm not getting ahead in life using the system the way others can - my accommodation situation isn't good.

"I went to Work and Income last week to get a food grant and some other things... that was really difficult, so I had to do things by phone - it's endless.

"There are people in government agencies who are well aware of my situation. They know what's going on with me. They could help me, but they refuse to," she claimed.

Crawford told RNZ she was supportive of the move-on legislation.

"I actually do think it's quite fair that the police have the powers to move homeless on because some are really disrespectful with the way they treat the streets. They leave things in a mess, they'll urinate in places they're not meant to, they're causing trouble for members of the public."

While it was true many homeless people had complex needs, their issues were behavioural, not criminal, Elger said.

"Certainly some of the homeless that we deal with have mental health issues, they've got complex health deeds, they have got addiction needs, which creates some behavioural issues.... If you don't know and experience people from the street, and don't know how to treat people with dignity, then you get scared," she said.

"What happens when people go out into maybe the 'leafier' suburbs, then you've got people who just aren't experiencing them, so don't know how to be, and how to just treat people normally."

Elger said homeless people were not dangerous.

"What we hear time and time again from homeless is, just say kia ora, say hello, give us a smile."

"We're not anybody other than like you, we just want to be treated with dignity - we just don't happen to have a home." Elger said.

'A risk of inconsistency, arbitrariness, and legal challenges'

The police union has also questioned the need for move on orders, warning they would pull officers away from other duties and displace vulnerable people without appropriate support.

Police Association president Steve Watt had serious concerns about the regime's practicality and effectiveness.

"The bill risks placing police in a role of managing the visible effects of homelessness, addiction, mental health issues, poverty, and youth vulnerability, rather than addressing the underlying causes," he said.

"Our primary concern is that police will be expected to repeatedly relocate vulnerable people without the resources, services, or legal guidance needed to achieve lasting outcomes."

Some of those moved on could be as young as 14, and Watt said that conflicted with youth justice principles which are focused on welfare and rehabilitation.

He pointed out officers already had powers to address disorderly or offensive behaviour, assault and obstruction, property damage, and graffiti.

"So we do question why additional powers are needed when existing legislation already covers public order offending."

Watt said the bill lacked detail, leaving officers with significant discretion over where to move people to, how far away they should go.

That created uncertainty around things like handling homeless people's belongings and referring people to support services, he said.

"It creates a risk of inconsistency, arbitrariness, and legal challenges," he said.

Watt warned police had limited resources and enforcing move on orders would be resource intensive, requiring assessment, follow up and possible enforcement.

"Repeated move-on orders could divert frontline officers from core policing functions such as prevention, response, and investigations."

Watt said the change to be in direct conflict with police gradually withdrawing from mental health callouts, which had been happening over the past few months to relieve frontline pressure.

"It draws us back into that ... social problem that really doesn't sit with police."

Public pressure to act

Another submitter from Wellington's Downtown Community Ministry, which supports homeless people, felt the law would place police in a difficult position - having to move people on knowing they had nowhere to go.

"Police know the people, and they know the stories, and they know the circumstances that that person's in," said chief executive Natalia Cleland.

"I think there will be public pressure from them, they will not be able to walk past someone who they know for certain isn't causing a problem and doesn't have anywhere to go."

Watt said Cleland was right.

Formerly homeless man challenges MPs to a weekend on the street

Wellingtonian Pat Metham told the committee he had become homeless after a serious injury ended his tennis coaching career.

He said he chewed through his savings and ended up on the street.

"I had no idea what to do and had never been in such a situation," he said.

"My experience taught me just how quickly someone's circumstances can change, and just how difficult it is to get help when you need it."

He spoke of the constant struggle and fear that came with living on the street, and urged the committee to amend the bill to focus only on genuinely harmful behaviour.

"Not on the simple fact that someone has nowhere else to go and is trying to survive."

Metham also laid down a challenge, asking members to join him on the street for a weekend with only a sleeping bag and a drink bottle.

"We would speak with members of the Wellington homeless community, do our best to find food and somewhere to sleep, which may be the street," he said.

"I respectfully think that members of this committee need to understand homelessness and its reality."

Submissions will continue to be heard on Friday.