Hundreds speak up to oppose ‘Move on‘ legislation.
The government is criminalising homelessness through legislation to force rough sleepers out of public view and threatening them with fines and imprisonment if they have nowhere else to go.
What is proposed:
People who are sleeping rough, begging or just ‘inhabiting’ a public place aged 14 and over will face fines and prison terms if they fail to comply with move-on orders proposed by the Government under new legislation.
Why this is wrong
At the heart of our faith is a radical claim: every human being, regardless of their bank account or the roof over their head, bears the Imago Dei—the Image of God. This divine dignity is inherent; it cannot be stripped away by poverty, and it must not be ignored by the law.
The biblical story tells of radical belonging. It is never to "clear the streets" of those experiencing poverty, but to "share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter" (Isaiah 58:7).
Housing and support solve homelessness, not enforcement. The government have announced this punitive approach while actively making homelessness worse through cutting emergency housing and slashing support for wraparound services. This policy won't work, and will also make homelessness more difficult to address.
What the solutions are
Dozens of agencies and experts, and those experiencing homelessness know what solutions to homelessness are, namely for the government to:
Roll back the emergency housing changes and resource immediate housing solutions.
Fund health, addiction and outreach services that work with those who are sleeping rough
Implement duty to assist legislation
Build public housing at scale
Hundreds from the Common Grace community have written submissions.
As a movement of Christians seeking the flourishing of Aotearoa, we cannot remain silent while poverty is treated as a nuisance rather than a tragedy. During the submission period, hundreds of people from churches across Aotearoa have had their say. Many submissions raised concern that this bill crosses a moral threshold. This is a time for the Church to speak up in defense of those whom Jesus put at the centre of his ministry.
Here is what we recommend you do right now before the ‘Move-on’ legislation is passed:
Make your own submission before midnight on 2 July.
The Common Grace team has made resources to help you have your say.
Check out the submission guide
Then make your submission directly on the Parliament website before midnight on 2 July.
If enough people express opposition to this proposal, the government may wind back its most harmful aspects. A wave of public opposition will also increase the likelihood that opposition parties, if elected, would repeal the legislation. So - have your say today.