Bringing in a beggar ban bylaw

Councillors Terry Molloy and Bill Grainger want to ban beggars from the CBD. Photo: Andrew Campbell.

Tauranga City Council is this week looking at legislating beggars out of the central business district.

A notice of motion, filed by councillor Terry Molloy and seconded by Bill Grainger, proposes banning begging and sleeping rough in the city.

While they wish to ban sleeping rough only in the central business district, begging is to be banned ‘city wide', according to the Notice of Motion, which is to be discussed at Tuesday's city council meeting.

A third part of the motion is that the city council urgently work with the community and central government partners to put in place support for those is genuine need.

The motion's supporting comments acknowledge that implementing it will take some time but it is intended to send a clear message that the council is determined to rectify the social problems ‘on its journey to becoming an internationally competitive city with a higher standard of living for all'.

Nelson has already successfully put in place bylaws covering begging and rough sleepers, and Tauranga could use their model, says the two councillors.

One option is an amendment to the existing Street Use and Public Places Bylaw – which empowers the council to give out parking tickets.

The councillors say begging is a major problem in the city, not just the CBD but also Greerton and other areas. The beggars are increasing in number and becoming more aggressive, making many people avoid certain areas of town. They say there is some evidence that professional begging groups are operating.

'It is not a good look for our residents, our visitors and children, especially as begging and rough sleeping should not be necessary in this country,” says Terry.

'This is even worse than window washers and council banned them.

'Once we stop the soliciting/begging, I believe it will result in a significant drop-off of rough sleepers. This will have a significant positive impact on our business in the city.”

A SunLive story in August reported council complaints about begging and beggars have declined over the last two years.

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21 comments

How will this help

Posted on 20-11-2017 12:14 | By Christine1965

So will they just waste police time in relocating them to another area to become someone else's problem! Or give them a bed for the night in police cells. Issuing the homeless with tickets won't have any effect. Maybe council needs to really step up and provide them all with a permanent shelter.


Yup

Posted on 20-11-2017 12:45 | By jonthejoiner

As a regular dog walker I have seen the amount of people sleeping in there cars go from none 10 years ago to at least half a dozen in my walking patch.How we deal with the most needy in our society defines who we are as a country.


Give them a share of your councillor income

Posted on 20-11-2017 12:57 | By Chapsmate

So, Councillors, living rough on their thousand dollar plus income are going to attack those unable to find a home, a job, or an income.The homeless are unable to get a benefit to live on, because they do not have a home address.So, Counsellors terry & Grainger are hoping to ban these unfortunates from Tauranga.Would the same counsellors be willing to give up their garage, or to share a meal with these unfortunates?Haven't you heard, Hell Is Freezing Over this week!I can only hope that the remaining councillors are more understanding of those unforunates, and soundly defeat this motion!Disgusted


C'mon Christine 1965

Posted on 20-11-2017 13:08 | By rastus

We have among one of the most generous wellfare systems in the world - the truth is, that according to recent research on this subject, many beggars were making as much or more that those doing a forty hour week on the minimum wage - why is it always 'us' that have to support those who choose this lifestyle - sure the mentally challenged should be shown compassion but many of these people are simply annoying leaches on our society.


@ Christine1965

Posted on 20-11-2017 13:08 | By Captain Sensible

These shelters do not allow drugs or alcohol inside, so the "prospective clients" do not want to stay there, that's why many shelters struggle to even half fill up in some cities.


ABOUT TIME

Posted on 20-11-2017 14:34 | By jeancraven@kinect.co.nz

So pleased - have been abused on more than one occasion for not giving.


Terry Molloy and Bill Grainger

Posted on 20-11-2017 15:26 | By backofthequeue

Let's treat the symptom not the problem. As for serving the community - Bah humbug!


A bit of both maybe

Posted on 20-11-2017 15:56 | By jaydeegee

Provision of a dedicated shelter with minimum facilities and a total ban on begging and sleeping rough in public areas. Failure to respect public area rules should result in a term in prison.


Define the word.

Posted on 20-11-2017 16:05 | By Christine1965

Good please include those beggers at shop doors begging for donations. Those younger people are so in your face trying to get attention both entering and exiting.


golly gosh

Posted on 20-11-2017 16:15 | By old trucker

Iwill stay quiet on this,when in Hong kong a few yrs back there were BEGGARS everywhere on their mats, i was told not to give as one was a multi millionaire,thats how he works ,why should we have to give,my thoughts on this is only, is to send them to WAIORU to the ARMY CAMPand they could do some exercise and run up the Desert rd in early morning with a full pack and this would give them shelter and a feed and this would SOLVE the PROBLEM,this is my thoughts only on this subject,this would work, (but hang on ) this will bring a response from the PC brigade,(but) it would work,and this problem is SOLVED,what a good idea,Sunlive is No1 for news ,Thankyou, 10-4 out. phew.


Seriously?

Posted on 20-11-2017 19:16 | By Daisychains

Looks like the councils trying to push everything under the bed. Maybe try and fix the homelessness issue instead of making it even more difficult for beggars to get enough coins to buy a meal every day by moving them to less populated areas. Maybe help them, maybe look at the current beneficiaries system and the vast amount of people binging off the system because its so much easier to just live on a benefit than work full time...build an appartment building for them all use government funding for what its there for? Actually help them feel supported in society cause pushing them out only makes them lose hope


Beggars in CBD

Posted on 20-11-2017 20:13 | By Captain Hottie

They're very visible in the weekends when so many shops are shut, and thanks to the CBD being a dead zone, there are heaps of empty shops where the beggars can hustle outside of during weekdays. The chuggers (charity muggers) and pamphleteers are almost as bad. Council seem determine to bury the CBD once and for all - if beggars tried this at Fraser Cover or Bayfair they would be frogmarched out pretty quickly.


No easy fix

Posted on 20-11-2017 20:39 | By namxa

Every person sleeping rough or begging, more than likely has a different story as to how they ended up where they areThere is no quick easy answer, and a bylaw wont solve anything. Its a world wide phenomenon, has been for a long long time, the fact that its commonplace so close to home now only points to underlying social/family/community conditions.But on another note, yeh, the charities tryin to guilt trip money from me as I enter/exit the supermarket, theres a bylaw I would back.


@Old Trucker

Posted on 20-11-2017 21:38 | By morepork

I'm NOT a member of the PC brigade but I AM a sometime NZ soldier. There is a common misconception that "sending them to Waioru" would solve the problem. It won't, and that is not the purpose of our professional defense force. What you really mean is that these people lack discipline. They do, but that is the responsibility of the "system" (which lets them "get away with it"), their parents and schools, not the Army. People who really need help should get it; those who are "working the system" should be stopped, and making begging illegal, is a step in the right direction. Having spent time in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, I am well aware that what people here call "poverty" is actually no such thing, and there is no need for ANYONE to HAVE to beg in our society. Some mental adjustment may be required.


About Time

Posted on 21-11-2017 03:29 | By Christine1965

Our welfare system pays these bludgers well as mentioned here.I have an orchard, not one kiwi has ever applied to work there, but every other nationality turn up at seven, no excuse to beg in Tauranga or NZ.


Bylaw enforcement

Posted on 21-11-2017 07:20 | By The Sage

So the Council is going to bring in a bylaw. Will it be toothless like many other Council bylaws seem. Who is going to enforce it and how much will that cost?


Ever decreasing circles, of dispair.

Posted on 21-11-2017 13:53 | By R. Bell

Morepork believes " poverty" does not exist in N.Z. Wrong. Poverty is relative, what would feed and cloth and provide a home for a New Zealander for a week, would provide a Bangladeshi the same for a year or more. Begging cannot be made illegal, think about it. Such a false face has to include all begging, from the Churches down to street beggars. If you want fairness implement a tax system that includes all. Kicking the down and out is just pathetic. Robin Bell.


@ Ring a ding

Posted on 22-11-2017 16:39 | By MISS ADVENTURE

It would also mean the handouts via the Waitangi Tribunal would come to a grinding holt, no wonder you support begging?


begging

Posted on 23-11-2017 13:41 | By MISS ADVENTURE

means no just reason, no purpose except self indulgence, greed and a trumpted up story created in good old myth/legend style tailoured to achieve a desired end result. Nothing in it from start to finish is good. The finalie is that, all learn that legitimately earnign a living is all just to hard when handouts are free and easy ... what a lesson for our kids this really is?


begging - part 2

Posted on 26-11-2017 15:58 | By MISS ADVENTURE

SOP when you roll atll that together and then there is no "real" beggers in NZ they are simply there becasue they chose that way of life. That means the needs/addictions rule the mind (obviously) and that places the addiction ahead of what would normally be considered unacceptable to then be tolerable or even ignored. Regrettably here the pair of bloggers ... "The Pet and RObbin" show fall entirely into this mindset, the endz justifies teh means, begging is something they think all others should through whatever at it to fix it (money for nothing, to 'help' them). As with all addictions there is no way to help them without them also wanting to change, recognise the need and instead of hand out for money and free stuff a hand out for help. HELP to thise willing to change/improve/learn I have no issue with.


Begging

Posted on 26-11-2017 16:22 | By MISS ADVENTURE

perhaps a fair definition/description is "those who chose to have an additive lifestyle/needs and expect others to aid, encourage and pay/provide for that way of life that they alone choose. "When something is provided for free, without obligation its value is downgraded and it become valueless and regrettably the priviledge becomes a demand with the usual add on of "entitlement".


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