A proposed bylaw targeting the homeless in Tauranga is being met with protest.
The council last week voted 6-2 to add a homeless ban to the city's proposed Street Use and Public Places bylaw. It would make begging and rough sleeping banned within five metres of any retail or hospitality site.
Protest organiser Tania Lewis-Rickard says the council has not thought the plan through.
"If you take something away from someone you have to replace it with something else, and that something hasn't been put in place yet."
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Ms Lewis-Rickard says it's horrible to see people treated this way, and it's making the homeless feel dehumanised.
"When you put a bylaw like that in place it makes the vulnerable feel more vulnerable, and it pushes them our further and further away from people that want to help."
Ms Lewis-Rickard is hoping the march will help change the minds of councillors.
The bylaw is yet to undergo public consultation.
Newshub.
