Waititi said the removal of the homeless people was “callous attacks” on “vulnerable whānau”.
He said they were woken by police, trespassed like criminals and had their belongings “tipped out, broken, or hauled away like trash”, with some also arrested “for being distressed at the violent way they were being treated under cold, heartless council bylaws”.
He described it as “state-sanctioned cruelty”.
“These whānau are being pushed from footpath to footpath, not into homes. In the harsh winter weather, this kind of treatment is not just unacceptable, it is dangerous.”
He said homelessness was not a lifestyle choice but a failure of successive governments.
That’s wrong for a start. In most cities there are organisations that will take in rough sleepers no questions asked.
Tapsell responded to Waititi’s statement on his Facebook page, saying in her view his comments were “overdramatic”, “radical” and “lies”.
“If you bothered to be present in Rotorua, which you barely are, you’d know these people have been intimidating and threatening others, s***ting, taking and selling drugs, and having sexual intercourse all in the public’s view and causing significant distress to the innocent families (including very young tamariki), workers and tourists walking by.”
She told the Rotorua Daily Post the council had taken action to solve an issue “causing massive concern for our community”.
The behaviour of some in the homeless group was “crossing a line”.
I love Tania. Such a great Mayor who takes no crap.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
6 comments:
Having "people have been intimidating and threatening others, s***ting, taking and selling drugs, and having sexual intercourse all in the public’s view and causing significant stress to the innocent families" is Waititi's vision for NZ.
I’m sure the “concerned” Waititi will open up his own whare and his own local marae to these “vulnerable whanau”, eh Waititi.
Anyone who describes this issue as "homeless" or even "rough sleepers" are deluding themselves and hiding behind the real issue which in NZ is "rampant substance addiction" / "deteriorating mental health"
While organizations may want to provide "homes" to the "homeless" this entirely misses the point and more likely will just create ghettos.
We need to address how to reduce the number people with addictions and mental health issues, which is more complicated than merely rounding them up and throwing them in a shelter.
If he's so concerned about his "whanau" why doesn't he take them in?
Having just re read Polak, possibly Waititi is seeking continuation of aspects of cultural behaviour prior colonisation.
I thought that all the tribes had plenty of money, in millions of taxpayers dollars, to look after their vulnerable whanau ?
Oh, it doesn't trickle down ?
Only up to the elite?
If they aren't going to address the issues, then neither am I going to be concerned, and they can all suffer in their own self inflicted mess.
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