Council’s Decision on Camping Laws
On Wednesday night, Council voted to begin the process to change our local laws relating to camping on council land.
This was one of the few occasions this year where Council was divided, with the changes passing on a 6:3 vote.
At the heart of this decision was a fundamental question: are our existing local laws sufficient to manage encampments and ensure safety and amenity on council land?
I voted against the proposed changes, along with Councillors Buckingham and Crawford, on the basis that our current local laws are already adequate to address encampments and associated anti-social behaviour.
Importantly, any local law that restricts an individual’s rights must strike a careful balance between safety and amenity on the one hand, and personal freedoms on the other. Council cannot simply restrict people’s freedom of movement or assembly on public land without a clear and proportionate justification.
The Impact of Encampments
The community’s understandable concern about safety and amenity was heightened by Council’s failure to manage the encampment on Jackson Street. That encampment grew and became entrenched during the 2024 Council election period, when Council was in caretaker mode.
Regrettably, this lack of timely intervention had serious impacts on local residents and visitors.
As soon as the new Council was sworn in in November 2024, we directed Council officers to work with Victoria Police and community service organisations to disperse the encampment and restore safety and amenity. To support this direction, we allocated funding to add staff to the local laws team and increase patrols.
In December 2024, Councillor Buckingham brought forward a notice of motion to convene a Community Safety Roundtable. This brought together Council officers, police, and community service partners, and was chaired by former magistrate Ian Grey. The roundtable was also tasked with reviewing whether our existing local laws were fit for purpose.
How Encampments Were Managed
Over the final months of 2024 and into 2025, Council’s local laws officers worked alongside police and community organisations to enforce existing laws and responsibilities. This included:
- Removal of rubbish and abandoned furniture
- Police enforcement in relation to criminal behaviour, including theft, drug use, and assaults
- Outreach by community organisations offering health, drug dependency, and housing support
Together, Council, police, and community service organisations addressed encampments using their existing powers.
In May 2025, the final Community Safety Roundtable report confirmed that Council’s current local laws were adequate, a view supported by all participating community service organisations. Victoria Police dissented, stating that they found the City of Port Phillip’s local laws to be inadequate in their ability to limit or stop encampments.
Existing Laws and Responsibilities
Throughout 2025, while Council debated potential changes to local laws, our local laws officers, police, and community service organisations used existing powers to manage and disperse encampments in locations such as Woodstock Street and Duke Street.
In each case, safety and amenity concerns were addressed without the need for additional local laws.
Calls for reform have largely focused on:
- Behaviour on council land
- Placement of furniture and camping equipment
- Theft, assault, and drug use
- The ability to require people to ‘move on’
However, these matters are already covered:
- Clause 17 of Council’s local laws prohibits nuisance behaviour, harassment, and defecation or urination on council land
- Clause 43 of Council’s local laws prohibits obstruction of council land with furniture or camping equipment and allows officers to impound items
- Victoria Police are responsible for enforcing criminal law and are the only authority with the power to issue ‘move on’ directions
While Victoria Police have expressed concerns about the adequacy of local laws, our experience throughout 2025 shows that when Council, police, and community organisations each exercise their existing roles and responsibilities, encampments can be effectively managed.
Why I Voted No
On Wednesday night, I argued that the proposed changes to our local laws were unnecessary and largely duplicative.
More broadly, I do not support the introduction of new rules and restrictions unless there is clear evidence they are required. Too often, governments reach for new laws as a way of appearing to act, rather than ensuring existing powers are properly used.
For these reasons, I chose not to support the changes and instead to back our local laws officers, police, and partner organisations to continue addressing encampments using the powers they already have.
