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But that’s the measure currently being discussed at the City of Port Phillip. We need your help, by March 29, to ensure it doesn’t pass.
Some councillors want local laws – which already permit the removal of items that obstruct footpaths or accessways – to more specifically penalise people who are sleeping rough.
They want council officers to confiscate people’s blankets, sleeping bags and anything else that might be considered ‘encampment equipment’. The idea behind it is that people sleeping rough will be forced to move on to somewhere less hostile.
The local law amendment first went to consultation last year. The majority of participants opposed it as an unnecessary change – but Council is giving it another shot anyway.
Councillors pushing for this amendment are saying it’s for ‘community safety’. We all want to feel safe in the places we live, work and play. But we know – from working every day with people experiencing homelessness and trauma – that it will cause aggression and distrust to spike, not decrease.
They’d like us to believe the alternative is to ‘do nothing’. It’s not.
The City of Port Phillip just endorsed an excellent Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy with practical solutions: storage for people’s possessions, community spaces where people can get meals and showers, outreach to connect people on the street with services that can help them, and a shared commitment to finding safe housing for people who need it most. This is what truly leads to community safety.
But the amendment before Council goes in the opposite direction, diverting resources from solutions that actually work.
As a community, we’re better than that. We’ve always been willing to pitch in and help each other through the tough times. We know that that practical support goes much further than pointless punishment.
So let’s tell Council how we really feel about this amendment – so they can make a better choice.
Tell Council before Sunday 29 March that you disagree with the proposed amendment.
Here’s how to do it.
Share your views before consultation closes.
Complete a brief survey on the City of Port Phillip website. You’ll need to create a user profile (it’s quick and easy), tick whether you agree or disagree with the proposed amendment, and add a comment if you like.
Share your views with the City of Port Phillip
Contact your Councillors.
Call or write to them and let them know it’s not okay to take people’s survival items.
Find out more.
Read City of Port Phillip’s Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy, which outlines far more practical ways to solve the problem. Southside Justice also has a comprehensive explanation of this amendment and the harm it can cause.
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