Mayor
Prendergast needs to live up to the Creative Wellington
vision when talking about the city's homeless people, said
Councillors Pepperell and Zwartz today.
"There are
creative, humane solutions to the problems these people
face," Bryan Pepperell said. "It is heartless to respond
only in a punitive way."
"The city shouldn't react only
with rejection," David Zwartz added. "Wellingtonians are by
and large compassionate people, and I believe they would
much rather see something constructive done for the
homeless, even if it's a cost to the city."
Both
councillors say that creativity should be applied to social
problems as well as to economic growth and setting up
Wellington as the arts and culture capital.
"We don't want
Wellington to be seen as a heartless place, promoting fun at
Oriental Bay or in Courtenay Place but acting harshly on the
people at the bottom of the heap," the councillors said.
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