Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Paul Goldsmith: Justice Minister on Government proposes law to move on rough sleepers

Transcript

Paul Goldsmith: Justice Minister on Government proposes law to move on rough sleepers · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well.
• 0:00
  Speaker 2: The biggotnouncement over the weekend is that the government's moving
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: to give police new powers to move on beggars and
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: rough sleepers from town centers. So under this proposed law,
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: which still has to be passed, officers could order people
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: to leave specific areas. If you fail to comply, you
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: could end out in jail for three months or maybe
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: even a two thousand dollars fine. Paul Goldsmith is a
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Justice minister and joins you, now.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Good, what is your Paul right? Good morning?
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: How good will this work?
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Well, we believe it will. The issue is, of course,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: which is obvious to everybody that has been visiting the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: center of Auckland and many of our main streets around
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: the country, is that there's been a big increase over
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the last few years and anti social behavior and a
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: sort of sense of intimidation. People don't feel comfortable and
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: safe in our CBDs, and we need to change that.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: We need to reclaim our in our street so it's
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: a welcoming place for people who live there and work
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: there and for visitors. So we want to send current message.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: So this means that if you're homeless or down on
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: your luck, you're in fact you've got it. You're causing
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: an offense.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Well, no, you're causing an offense if you don't follow
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: a move on order for the police. And so at
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: the moment there's a gap in the law which which
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: means that the police aren't aren't able to deal with
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: sort of low level of behavior or antisocial behavior that
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: collectively adds up to an intimidating atmosphere in the streets.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: And so that's that's the gap we're trying to fill.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: So when they moved on, whether they go because I
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: just go somewhere else and cause the same problem, just
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: different location.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Well, no, I mean where they go is they go
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: a reasonable distance which maybe which will depend where you are,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: of course, if you're talking about the main street of
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: fung Array or an apil or might be different from
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Walkland Council, or it may be a kilometer up the road.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: And then of course if you up there up the
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: road do the same behaviors, well then you can be
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: moved on again until the message is learned. And so
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: it's not that the law applies everywhere in the country,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: and it's about saying, well, look, actually we have we're
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: a country that cares very much about the needs of individuals.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: We have a very strong welfare system. We invest hundreds
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: of million dollars and lots of programs around housing, around addictions,
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: and we're here to help you if you if you
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: want that help. But if you don't, and you think
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: that you have a right to occupy Queen Street for
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: example and live there, well, actually no you don't because
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: the rest of the community want to have access to
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: those facilities. In a way. That doesn't mean that our
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: center of our cities are a place where people feel
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: like there's a disorder in the last lack of sort
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: of social cohesion.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: All right, Paul Godsworth as the Justice Minister for more
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: from Early edition with Ryan Bridge.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Listen live to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays,
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.