Hutt City Mayor Ken Laban on Wellington leaders signing letter against move on orders

Wellington Regional mayors, iwi and community leaders have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister stating that new move on orders are not welcome in the area.

The move on orders have been proposed by the government to cope with growing numbers of homeless people in city centres - giving police powers to move people for 24 hours.

The letter from the mayors is concerned that this is not the best way to deal with the issue and will cause harm in the community.

Nick speaks with Hutt City Mayor Ken Laban about signing the letter, and the alternatives that the mayors are requesting. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks'd.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Be when I first met Hut City Mayor Ken Laban
thirty or forty years ago. He was part of a
group of police that used to walk round the town.
How many is mate, Glenda Hughes, And they used to
drive around in vans and anything that was really serious
going on, like gang brawls or big fights at bars,

(00:32):
they would arrive. They were the toughest cops in town.
Now is the mayor of Lower Hart. He's gone woke.
Good morning, Ken.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
You call kindness and looking after the vulnerable, which we
all have a duty to care. To you of care
being woke. I've done my feshee of moving people on,
as you well know, Nick, and you've just alluded to
that with Glenda and others over the years. I've done
my fat share of arresting people and putting them through
the court as well. And so I'm no stranger to

(01:09):
being to being involved with people on the front line
who come amock with the law. But you know, I'm
not sure from a homeless perspective, and those that those
that romance streets and those who struggle with mental health
and those that are in very vulnerable positions fit that
same category. I was if I'm going to be accused
of being a woke, but then I'll plead guilty.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Okay, that's good. I'm pleased we've got that one sorted
out very early in the interview. But I want to
know what your alternative is, because doing nothing is not
an alternative and it's not a plan. And you know,
I don't know whether you heard hear the Dupercy Allen yesterday,
but I was embarrassed.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
I didn't hear it. What did you say?

Speaker 2 (01:49):
She said? Basically, let you guys can do what you want,
and you know you can talk to the police commanders
and not have them move these people on. We will
be a joke and no time because other cities around
the country will be all cleaned up and all tidied
up and be great, and Wellington will still be a
s like I was going to can't say a hole,
but I will say it quietly. You know, with all

(02:09):
these people and man tourists come here, they'll know that
they're in maintain because they're still homeless people here.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
So if we've moved them from Courtney Place to a
little street tucked off Tory Street in town, or we
moved them from High Street and l'll had our main
street and he can shift them to an alleyway, alleyway
behind Queen's Drive up front. We look like we've done something,
but in reality we haven't addressed anything. You know, as

(02:36):
well as I do thking many of our people listening.
There are a lot of vulnerable people in our community,
and some are more visual than others. You know, we
hear people who live alone and live isolated don't have
the opportunity to get out, but nonetheless they suffer from
the same level of depression and loneliness that others do.
And equally there are those there are those on the

(02:56):
street who have got who have got issues. Ken. We're
not arguing that when we say.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Hold on, hold on, Ken, hold on, we're not arguing
that we all every museum and to feel the same way.
But we have got social housing, We've got the government
doing everything they can, We've got counsels doing everything they've can.
There is plenty of places for these people to stay,
and they want to be on the street. How do
we fix it?

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Well, we can move them on if we've got somewhere
to move them to. But what you're saying is an
easy thing to say, but not quite as easy to achieve.
Once they devolved all the mental health units and essentially
put a lot of these people back on the street,
a number of them don't have that opportunity. They don't
have their confidence or their access. So it's over to
those of us that are in these positions to try

(03:43):
to create the right environment so they can get back,
so they can get back on their feet. For some
of them, you know, the wait lists for going all
housing is off the chart as it is, so from
a La Hut perspective, they were just going a waiting list.
We don't have rooms available where we can immediately take

(04:03):
them to get support because all of those all of
those mens and women centers that we have around the Hut,
they're all they're all full as well. So, you know,
I just feel like it's an unnecessary bullying of some
vulnerable people. And there are people that work very hard
in the Hot End and around the country with Mariah

(04:25):
and social services to try and address it, to try
to reduce the number of those and get them back
on their feet.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
We've got organizations like dwell Housing and Wellington doing wonderful job.
I can see that I can and I want them
to those people to move in there, and they're doing
everything they can. Have you got something similar in the hut,
Yes we have.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
We haven an Oasis group and the similar organizations. But
you know all those joints are packed as well, Nick, Right,
So what.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Do we do? Do we just put up with it?
Do we you know, if we're not going to move
them on, do we just put up with it? In
retail hospitality, the people that want to walk on your
streets and get your seat, your city's vibrant again? Do
they just have to put up with it? Is that
our problem not their problem?

Speaker 1 (05:09):
Well?

Speaker 3 (05:09):
I think we just need to We just need to
move them somewhere safe, where where they're not as vulnerable,
and we need to work with and work with their issues.
And you know, it's not it's not something that we
can flex by, you know, the government sending out a memo.
You know, we need to we need to work collectively
with our commenity organization and try to create places and

(05:31):
spaces for them to be able to go to. You know,
it's not hard to be kind to people, Nick.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
No, No, I agree, I'm not trying to be harsh
on people that need our love and support. But I'm
trying to actually find a solution. Tourists are now coming
back into our cities. We I'm seeing them every day.
It's great, it's wonderful, it's got a great buzz about it.
But I also see them looking at people sitting on
the sidelines and urinating on the you know, in front
of shop with shop doors, And I say to myself,

(05:58):
this is not a good look.

Speaker 3 (06:01):
No, no, well I can't but they can't break the law.
I don't. I don't have an issue with with people
who have got no who've got nowhere to go. But
I do have an issue with them if they're going
to if they're going to do things like that and
break the law and be disorderly, then you know, they
need to be they need to be removed and they
need to be dealt with, you know. But for those
that are there that they've just got nowhere else to go,

(06:23):
I just think we need to be a little bit
more patient with them.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Someone's just texting and ask Ken, Please, ask Ken what
the plan is? Were the ones with addiction. I think
that I personally believe they've all got an addiction. You know,
I'm no doctor, but I think they have.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
It's a serious mental health issue for a number of those.
Mack and I don't mean to sound patronizing or condescending
of them. And the only hope is that those that are,
those that are employed and those that are in partnership
with various organizations to address the mental health eventually can
work their way through all of them that are on
the street and help them get back on their feet.

Speaker 2 (06:59):
Yeah, hi, Ken, great to talk to yours. Thanks for
taking the time out this morning. Keep doing the good job,
keep fighting the fight.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
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