Council agrees on begging ban bid

A beggar pleads for help in Perth city. Source: News Corp Australia

PERTH councillors have described the "intimidating" behaviour of some beggars as they agreed to ask the State Government to outlaw begging in WA.

Police Minister Liza Harvey today said she'd yet to receive formal notification from the City of Perth, but added: "On the surface this appears to be a matter for local government."

Councillor Judy McEvoy told Tuesday night's council meeting begging "was not something new" but had "changed dramatically" in the last few months.

She said CBD and Northbridge ratepayers had complained that the behaviour of beggars was "off-putting" and "intimidating".

Cr McEvoy told how one beggar threatened to "break the legs" of a shop manager who asked him to move-on.

Councillor James Limnios said he had been criticised by "keyboard warriors" for speaking out about the rise in begging.

He said critics misunderstood his position and explained that it was "society's duty" to support those with a "genuine need".

Cr Limnios described how he was contacted by a shopkeeper who said a beggar had threatened to "rape his daughter" after asking him to move-on.

"When you put in 50c instead of a gold coin and you get told off, that is what makes people scared to be in our city," he said.

Councillor Reece Harley said he found the issue "troubling" and after thinking "long and hard" could not support the proposed action.

Cr Harley said he'd been unable to find any evidence that showed making begging an offence had actually diminished the rate of begging.

Begging is not illegal in WA, New South Wales or the ACT, but is an offence in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said council rangers, who do not have powers to move-on beggars, had received a lot of aggression lately.

Ms Scaffidi said a person regularly seen begging on Hay Street lives in a Homeswest unit, while another spends takings on their gambling problem.

She went on to give another example of recently witnessing a man harass a woman aged in her 80s for 40 paces on Murray Street Mall.

"She did not deserve to be harassed when she was on her monthly trip to the city by a not very tidy looking person. That is not the kind of city we want," she said.

Ms Scaffidi said "not all begging is homelessness" and the Australian social welfare system is such that "nobody need beg".

"Technically there is no need. It's a desire to have more money, but that's a desire that's not exclusive towards beggars," Ms Scaffidi said.

She said Perth was copying a scheme introduced in the City of Melbourne last year to tackle aggressive begging.

There, begging is an offence but those who are charged and taken before the courts can enter a diversionary program run by the Salvation Army to have their fine waived.

Ms Scaffidi said the current approach to begging in WA was "ad hoc" and a coordinated strategy was needed to channel people into "better ways of life".

"(This is) a far more Christian approach than I think we have been given credit for," she said.

Council also agreed to survey beggars and call a meeting of agencies to introduce a diversion program to tackle the causes of begging.

A campaign to deter people from donating to beggars and to donate instead to charitable organisations would also be developed.

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