The Wellington City Mission projects message to Government and Opposition Parties

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.