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Auckland City Council has delayed spending $50,000 on a bylaw to move the homeless out of the CBD, but is investigating other ways to deal with the destitute.
After noting a December 3 recommendation the money be spent developing a bylaw to "manage" the city's homeless, the finance and strategy committee yesterday decided to see if the council could solve the problem by tweaking existing public spaces bylaws.
Council officers are expected to report back to the committee in the new year.
The homeless bylaw has been driven by Citizens & Ratepayers councillor and community services chairman Paul Goldsmith, with the support of his fellow C&R council members. In September, Mr Goldsmith asked officers to look seriously at getting homeless people off the streets after complaints from the public about mattresses on footpaths, puddles of urine and people behaving offensively.
C&R holds the balance of power on the council, and the proposed bylaw infuriated their City Vision-Labour opposition.
City Vision has subsequently accused C&R of creating a "right-wing version of nanny state" to punish and alienate homeless people, and yesterday Councillor Cathy Casey moved an amendment suggesting the council spend the $50,000 developing "a more involved contribution to other agencies' homeless work streams".
It was voted down three to two.
Dr Casey told the Herald she had no idea why it was necessary to start cracking down on the homeless, when the council had had no complaints from police or social agencies.
Council staff received about a phone call a month from the public complaining about the homeless, she said. "If you haven't got a problem, why are you enacting a punitive bylaw?"
But Mr Goldsmith said the further investigation would provide "a bit more clarity" about the council's legal situation. Council officers needed to do more detailed work "before we give them the headroom of up to $50,000".
He said the proposed bylaw would not "criminalise" the homeless.
Mayor John Banks has also questioned the need for a homeless bylaw, calling for a united approach between government agencies, the voluntary sector and others.
The police and City Missioner Diane Robertson have previously raised concerns about the law.
