John MacDonald: Turfing-out the red zone campers isn't the answer

It beggars belief that the Christchurch City Council is washing its hands of the 60 homeless people living in the residential red zone area on the east side of town.

These people have been living in a makeshift camp in Bexley for several years. But they’ve been told they have to leave by the end of February and that there’s nowhere else for them to go.

What’s happening is the council wants to press on with work converting the area into a wetland, which is part of the big long-term regeneration plan for the area.

It’s a plan that’s going to take decades to put in place. But the council wants to crack on with some of the work next year. So it needs the homeless campers to up sticks by February.

The red zone was where tens of thousands of people lived before the earthquakes. Since then, the city has been working out what to do with the area.

During that time, people with nowhere to live have started to congregate there, in Bexley, to the point where there are now about 60 of them living in their makeshift camp. Living in cars, trucks, buses, tents and shacks.

It beggars belief that the council is giving them the heave-ho because, for several years, it has been quite happy to tolerate these people being there.

Now it’s telling them to find somewhere else to live, but it won’t be anywhere in the red zone.

Which isn’t a piddly-sized bit of land. It covers 600 hectares, stretching from the city to the coast.

Six hundred hectares. Six square kilometres of land. Or equivalent to 840 rugby fields. Or about four times the size of Hagley Park.

We’ve got all that land and there’s nowhere for these people to go? Do me a favour.

As one of the people living there has told The Press, “We deserve a solution, not a deadline”.

Do they ever.

As this guy says: “Moving people on does not make their circumstances disappear. It simply moves the hardship somewhere else.”

Which is exactly what’s going to happen. These people living in the red zone aren’t causing any problems for anyone. So why is the council chucking them out?

Yes, I get it. Technically they’re probably occupying the area illegally.

This is what the council is alluding to in its weasel-words statement.

The council says: “Christchurch City Council manages public spaces on behalf of the community and must do so in accordance with its legal obligations, including council bylaws governing parks and public places. Residential occupation of public land is not permitted, and residents have been advised they will need to relocate by February 2027.

“The Council has been working with campers for an extended period and will continue to support them as the relocation timeframe approaches. The council is working alongside agencies including the Christchurch City Mission, Housing First and the Ministry of Social Development to help connect campers with available housing and support options. Ultimately the decision to engage with support services and seek alternative accommodation rests with each individual.”

I get all that. But have some heart and find somewhere else for these people to live. Instead of turfing them out and saying it’s up to them to find somewhere else to live. It not only beggars belief. It’s appalling.

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