T 03 9607 9311 [email protected] 7 February 2017 The Hon. Robert Doyle Lord Mayor The City of Melbourne Melbourne Town Hall – Administration Building 120 Swanston Street Melbourne, VIC By email: [email protected] Copied to: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Dear Lord Mayor, Proposed changes to by-laws regarding homeless people in Melbourne’s CBD The Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) is concerned by the introduction of proposed by-law amendments which broaden the restriction on public camping in the Melbourne CBD and provide expanded powers to move on rough sleepers. Currently camping is only banned in Melbourne if campers use a ‘vehicle, tent, caravan or any type of temporary or provisional form of accommodation’. However, the proposed change would expand this to prohibit all camping in a public place. The proposed by-law would also make it illegal for people to leave any unattended item in a public place, and allow for those items to be impounded and released on the payment of a fee. While the LIV acknowledges that public spaces should be regulated to promote community health and safety, this should not be achieved through increased penalties or move-on laws that victimise some of the most vulnerable members in our community. Police and council employees already have extensive powers to address issues such as aggressive behaviour or public drunkenness. Moving homeless individuals away from the Melbourne CBD will not solve the problems that are creating homelessness and will merely move people elsewhere. People may be pushed out to areas that do not have adequate services, limiting their opportunity to access the support they need. Moving homeless people out of the CBD may also expose them to a greater risk of violence. The right not to have one’s home and privacy interfered with is protected by the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. The criminalisation of people living on the street for every-day activities can also raise other human rights concerns under international law such as discrimination or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Criminalising street camping will not solve current issues of housing affordability and other factors leading to increased homelessness. Relying on move-on and infringement powers to address issues of homelessness and poverty is ineffective and counter-productive. This approach imposes a significant burden on the courts and police, and results in highly vulnerable people becoming caught up in the justice system and exacerbating the difficulties that come with homelessness and poverty. The LIV welcomes the Victorian Government’s recent announcement of a new emergency response package to provide housing and support for rough sleepers in the Melbourne CBD, and emphasises the importance of the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government continuing to work together with support services and agencies to come up with a long term strategy and service-based solution to homelessness in Victoria. If you have any questions regarding this letter please contact Kate Browne, Legal Policy, on (03) 9607 9489 or [email protected]. Yours sincerely, Belinda Wilson President Law Institute of Victoria .