Homelessness: Whanganui District Council closes freedom camping site; residents told to leave

Residents have until December 18 to leave the site and adjacent reserve. Photo / Mike Tweed

A second freedom camping site in Whanganui will be shut down, with Mayor Andrew Tripe citing “intimidation, assaults, litter, illicit substance abuse and damage to vegetation”.

The closure of the site on Anzac Parade follows the Whanganui District Council’s decision to shut the Taupō Quay freedom camping site for similar reasons in August.

In a written statement, Tripe said occupants at Anzac Parade, “many of whom are homeless”, had been asked to remove camping gear, vehicles and personal belongings from the site and the adjacent reserve by Wednesday, December 18.

“The situation there has become entirely unsafe, both for the campers on the land themselves and for members of the public wanting to access these areas,” he said.

“In Whanganui we are making a genuine and concerted effort, along with multiple agencies, to find solutions to address the needs of those in our community who are homeless.”

Tripe’s statement said the council remained committed to continuing to support vulnerable people who were “genuinely homeless”.

The council contracts Whanganui People’s Centre to work with people and get them on the Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) social housing list.

Mayor Andrew Tripe says the council's contract with the Whanganui People's Centre will continue. Photo / NZME

While that approach had been successful, with 42 people supported into housing over the past year, the council was faced with a situation it believed posed a significant risk to the public, staff and the people camping in the area, Tripe’s statement said.

In September, there were 279 people in Whanganui on MSD’s housing register.

The site at Anzac Parade has been used by homeless people since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Speaking to the Chronicle, Tripe said the People’s Centre’s contract would continue.

“We have to balance the interests of those living at Anzac Parade and the public’s expectations of health and safety,” he said.

“On balance, we believe we’ve done the right thing for the community regarding those that need a home.

“Working with the People’s Centre, we have provisions in place.”

For those who did not wish to take up that offer, “it’s entirely up to them”.

“I understand a number of them have other places to go and I think some will choose to go home or live with family,” Tripe said.

“Others may end up in other parts of Whanganui, wherever it is, but some – not all – choose an alternative lifestyle.”

People’s Centre manager Sharon Semple said her organisation was willing to walk alongside people “but they have to want to engage”.

She said there needed to be more pockets of supported living in the community and more support from Health NZ Te Whatu Ora and the Department of Corrections.

“I know Corrections doesn’t do housing but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t,” she said.

“People are coming out of prison with nowhere to go.

“I get they’ve committed a crime but where is the transition from prison to community?”

The Taupō Quay freedom camping site was shut in August. Photo / Mike Tweed

Semple said any entity set up to address homelessness and attract government funding needed accreditation and trained staff.

Whanganui Community House manager Shelley Loader said the organisation held meetings four years ago to draw attention to the emerging homelessness and housing situation – “to try and bring everyone together to address what is a community problem, as a community”.

She said while a lot of good work had been done, Community House was re-engaging to focus on bringing organisations and agencies together.

“We want to work collaboratively to understand the real issues and find a solution for those who are chronically homeless and for whom mental health issues, addiction, antisocial behaviour and non-engagement with services is not a choice,” she said.

In November, Loader said social services needed to work more collaboratively and that most people working in the non-profit sector did so “because they genuinely care”.

“Every individual and organisation has their own perspective and goals, which creates barriers to working collaboratively – despite sharing an overall goal," she said at the time.

Charitable organisation The Koha Shed had been in close contact with residents at Anzac Parade and chairwoman Sharon Duff said she did not know where they would go.

The Koha Shed was working alongside MIST (Mental Illness Survivors Team), Pathways, Community Living Trust, Tupoho and Te Oranganui, she said.

“We are trying to find solutions but we haven’t got the land and we haven’t got the funding,” she said.

“That goes for all the organisations, we are in the same boat.

“There are ideas for Africa out there but we need some action now.”

Duff said moving from homelessness to accommodation was often a pathway – “from a car to a tent to a cabin or shelter to a rental” – and it needed buy-in from the whole community.

Whanganui Community House manager Shelley Loader. Photo / NZME

Council chief executive David Langford said in a written statement that the Freedom Camping Act exempted the homeless from any infringement or repercussions under the council’s freedom camping bylaw.

“But under the Reserves Act and our public places bylaw, we can address specific issues, such as unauthorised entry on to reserve land, litter, trespass, disorderly behaviour or obstructing a public way among other things,” he said.

The council would undertake compliance and animal management visits over the summer and security monitoring would continue, he said.

“Members of the public witnessing behaviour or events of concern in the area should call the police immediately.”

Langford told the Chronicle situations involving people refusing to leave the site would be “addressed on a case-by-case basis”.

“We can trespass people and if they refuse to comply with the trespass order, they can be arrested.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.