New Plymouth's rough sleepers back car park solution
Photo:
RNZ / Robin Martin
A group of rough sleepers in New Plymouth are backing a proposal to allow them to use a council car park as a place to hang out.
But they are warning a police crackdown on their behaviour in the CBD will only push them out into residential neighbourhoods.
Inner-city retailers pushed the idea of using the lower deck of the car park at an invite-only meeting organised by the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. They said it would give rough sleepers a place to congregate during the day and stop them intimidating shoppers.
At the same meeting, acting area commander Andrew Fabish promised more police on the beat in town and
a tough stance on unlawful behaviour in the CBD
.
Sel was hanging with mates at Puke Ariki. He supported the car park idea.
"I'm all for it. A couple of business ladies - I won't mention their names - but I'm really grateful for them. I was there when they pulled the idea out, and now you've got word of it."
Sel, who has 'NZ' tattooed on his cheek, said the car park had plenty of positives.
"Warm, we're down the bottom out [of] everyone's way. You know we're not on the main street, we've got our own area. Give us some rules and we'll keep it clean."
He was happy living rough.
'I've got used to the streets now. I had a house, but I gave it up. No point in having a house if I can't bring my mates around and have no one to share it with.
"I love the streets, and if I was offered a house I'd still come back. You just feel free. You get a lot of abuse, but that's nothing to me - I'm used to it all. I'm humble now, I can handle it."
The car park in downtown New Plymouth.
Photo:
RNZ / Robin Martin
Sel was arrested following an incident in the city and was now barred from the CBD as part of his bail conditions.
"I suppose I've got to give it to them - it's the best way to get rid of us. But if you get us off the streets we are going to be in the community, and they're the ones that moan.
"Leave us in the city, give us some rules to abide by and if we muck up, move us on. But they haven't given us a chance - we've got no structure, so how are we going to abide by the rules if we haven't got any?"
He was not interested in staying at a night shelter being built at the YMCA.
"I'll still sleep on the street. I'm grateful for what the shelter's done, but I'll still be on the street. Some of us are on the street to look for a house, but not me."
The shower and laundry service was also of little interest.
"I've got family. I've got my kids and that, and I go and have showers. I'm not untidy. I'm just homeless, haven't got a house. I've got everything in my resume, quite qualified, done my homework, finished school."
The car park in downtown New Plymouth.
Photo:
RNZ / Robin Martin
A 36-year-old, who preferred not to give his name, had just emerged from Waimanako/The Hope Centre on Devon Street. He had been rough sleeping for three years.
"Just had a couple of struggles and ended up with nothing, so I'm down here at the moment."
He explained the attraction of downtown.
"It's where we all are and we feel safer together, I suppose."
He had been using the new YMCA showers, and reckoned the car park would be an okay place to go during the day.
"Yeah, it would be good for us instead of being out here and being looked at like we are up to no good or something. Somewhere for us to go and hang out by ourselves and away from everyone out here."
Rough sleepers had used the car park previously.
"We were up on level five for a little bit, a few of us, but because there were too many of us up there we had to move away from there."
He had had emergency housing in the past with an ex-partner, and wanted to get off the streets.
"It's just a struggle just trying to get a house and get help. I'm just a single male trying to get a home and there's families out there that, you know, that are better off getting a home."
Lawson had accommodation at the moment, but also had a long history on the streets.
"Mate, I was kicked out at 14 years old from my parents, and yeah, the streets was my only life for 25-plus years. Quite a long time, but I haven't got a criminal record or anything like that."
He said life on the street was less complex.
"It's just an easier way of life, to tell you the truth. It's a lot easier than being in a house. Life's a lot easier out here."
The prison in New Plymouth, dating back to the 1870s.
Photo:
RNZ / Robin Martin
Lawson had always felt safe.
"I never stayed down here, but where I was, I was safe."
Lawson, who liked to look out for the rough sleepers, was a fan of the car park idea.
"It'll be a lot warmer and there won't be so much trouble, because they're cold out here and they move around and are having fights or intimidating the public."
He was realistic about the challenges faced by the rough sleeper community.
"It's more to do with mental health, yeah I'd say, for most of the people out here - it's mental health. Half these people don't want help, that's the hardest thing.
"A lot of people have come to help us, given us solutions and that, but one comes up and intimidates them and they're just gone and we're back at square one again."
Alcohol and drugs were a problem also.
Daniel, who had ridden up on his bike, was onboard with the car park idea too.
"Anywhere that's dry, for sure."
But not so much the YMCA.
"Too much talk. I haven't seen nothing, but I'm not worried about it. I don't really want a house because I'm always in and out of jail."
Daniel had been on the streets for 20 years.
"Too many years, I've done too many years [on the streets]. I'm the longest at the moment."
He didn't have an answer when asked what would be a solution for his predicament.
"I don't think that far. I just take each day as it comes."
Meanwhile, Sel reiterated kicking rough sleepers out of the city was not going to work.
"I learned a good lesson though - I know not to play up in town, simple as that.
"But it's not going to get rid of us - we're just going to come back, but we're going to behave ourselves, you see? But we're still going to come back."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
6 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Police use new DNA tech to re-examine death of 6-year-old, 45 years on
Police are using DNA to try to solve the 1980 murder of six-year-old Alicia O'Reilly, who was killed at her Avondale home. Photo: Photo by ANIRUDH on Unsplash Warning: this story discusses details of the murder and assault of a child. Police have announced they are examining new evidence, and hope to use a forensic tool to solve the murder of six-year-old Alicia O'Reilly, who was killed in Auckland 45 years ago. A police statement on Saturday said O'Reilly was raped and was killed at her Canal Road home in the suburb of Avondale early on 16 August 1980. At this stage nobody has been convicted for her death. O'Reilly's case was reopened in 2020 and the investigation dubbed Operation Sturbridge. In a statement, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said on Saturday that a DNA sample had been obtained, which police hope could provide leads. Police are also working with a new technology, trailing an Investigative Genetic Genealogy tool, he said. "This is a slow process, and we are working carefully through this trial. "Modern scientific technology continues to advance, and we are working very closely with PHF Science to try and establish a DNA link to a potential offender." Alicia O'Reilly was murdered in 1980, when she was just six years old. Photo: Supplied/New Zealand Herald More to come ... If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Ban on protesting outside homes rebalances freedom of expression and privacy rights
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced protesting outside someone's home will become an offence. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The government's ban on protesting outside someone's home will rebalance the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy, a law professor says. But another academic has questioned whether a new law is necessary, and says police may struggle to enforce it. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced on Friday protesting outside someone's home would become an offence, punishable with a fine or jail time. While it would apply to all residences, Goldsmith said there had been increased reports of demonstrations targeting the homes of public figures like MPs, judges and other officials. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said current laws around protests only related to public settings. "Protests that take place outside someone's home really do intrude into a sort of domestic sphere where people usually feel they should be able to exist unperturbed and unthreatened," he said. "So this particular change in the law will help to restrike that balance." Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Geddis said the change would plug a legal gap highlighted by a Supreme Court ruling nearly two decades ago. The 2007 case, Brooker v Police, involved a man who was convicted of disorderly behaviour for standing outside a police officer's house playing the guitar and singing protest songs against her, he said. But the Supreme Court found his behaviour was not disorderly. "The Supreme Court said that disorderly behaviour only applies to the public consequences of your behaviour, how that affects the public place. "And just because it's intruding into someone's private home, that's not a consideration as to whether the protest is covered by disorderly behaviour," he said. It meant the balance between people's rights within their home and people's rights to protest in public was "out of whack", Geddis said. One of the judges noted the court's finding could lead to more protests outside people's homes, and Parliament would need to consider that at some point, he said. "It turns out he was right." Victoria University law professor Steven Price said police may find it hard to enforce the new law. Goldsmith said it would be tightly targeted and prohibit "unreasonable disruptions", but Price said the independent police watchdog's review of policing protests found officers struggled to make a call on that. "What the IPCA had to say about that ... is that police have trouble on the ground having to make fine distinctions about what's an unreasonable disruption and what's not, and that seems a fair point to make," he said. "But on the face of [Goldsmith's] press release, it doesn't really solve the problem." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Who pays when a supermarket price tag is wrong?
A Whanganui SuperValue displayed some dodgy maths recently, with the price per 100g not adding up to the main price shown. Photo: Supplied When a Whanganui SuperValue displayed some dodgy maths recently, shopper David Bradbury argued he should have been able to choose to pay the lower of the prices on offer. He spotted bacon that was advertised as selling for a different price per 100g than the main display price. Shoulder bacon was 200g for $4.69 but then 94c per 100g, and middle bacon was 200g for $5.79 but $1.16 per 100g. "I pointed out to the closest person in a shop uniform the poor arithmetic ... He said the big number was the right one. I said I should be able to choose. He said no." A SuperValue spokesperson said the unit price was incorrect . "On our pricing tickets customers will find the price of the item and a unit price which enables them to make an informed decision of value based on the unit of measure. "In this instance, the unit price was incorrect on the 200gm Grandpas Shoulder Bacon and Middle Bacon products. The price was however the correct price the customer would have paid at the apologise for the error and any confusion caused. "We know how important it is that all of our tickets are accurate and we have now corrected the pricing tickets to reflect the correct unit price." Vanessa Horne, Commerce Commission general manager, competition, fair trading and credit said she encouraged him to report the concern so the commission could assess whether the shop was complying with the laws it enforced. "The trader could be prosecuted where there is serious non-compliance with the Unit Pricing Regulations. "The Unit Pricing Regulations are there to help consumers easily compare products based on the price-per-unit and make informed choices about which product offers them the best value." She said the Commerce Commission had ongoing investigations into supermarket operators . "We have recently filed criminal charges against Woolworths NZ, Pak'nSave Silverdale, and Pak'nSave Mill Street for what the Commission alleges was inaccurate pricing and misleading specials that may have breached the Fair Trading Act. "Supermarkets have long been on notice about the importance of accurate and clear pricing and specials, and we're not satisfied with the continuing issues we're seeing across the industry. "The major supermarkets are large, well-resourced businesses that should invest the time and effort to get pricing and promotions right." Consumer NZ spokesperson Sahar Lone said a supermarket that displayed incorrect unit pricing could be breaching the Fair Trading Act. "If you notice an incorrect unit price, point this out to a supervisor in store. The store has the right to correct its pricing mistakes. If it doesn't sort the issue, or it's widespread, you can lodge a complaint with the Commerce Commission." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
