$100-a-day Queenstown beggar: It’s ‘so cool’ here

Homeless man confronting for resort town, writes Debbie Jamieson

Stephen Robertson and his paper cup have become a fixture at the top of Queenstown Mall since he arrived in town from Auckland at the start of February.

The man who is believed to be Queenstown’s first beggar claims people in the resort are much more generous than ‘‘snobby’’ Aucklanders.

‘‘I’m enjoying my life. I’m loving it here. It’s so cool,’’ said Robertson, who claimed to make up to $100 on a good day begging in his new hometown.

‘‘People around here have got money. They stop and talk to you. In Auckland they don’t even talk to you. They snob you.’’

His arrival has raised a few concerns in the resort town, where the median house price rose to $913,000, or 15 times the average annual wage, in 2018.

DowntownQT town centre manager Steve Wilde said businesses had been in touch with him since Robertson appeared on the streets and were concerned about his welfare. ‘‘If someone needs some help, then we would want to see that happen.’’

However, the expectation was that anyone asking for money on the streets would do so in a ‘‘busking-type’’ situation.

‘‘If people are going to set up on the street and ask for money, the quid pro quo is that there’s an entertainment element to it and that guy does not fit this category.’’

Robertson’s income from begging was supplemented by an invalid’s benefit.

He had been sleeping in a tent given to him someone who was leaving town, and the Salvation Army had provided him with food and a sleeping bag.

Salvation Army social worker Hine Marchand said Queenstown was one of the few towns that didn’t have emergency housing or a refuge for those who needed it.

‘‘There’s absolutely nothing and if people want to freedom camp, they have to go out of town. If they put a tent up around town, they get a fine. How they are expected to pay that when they are begging to live, I don’t know.’’

It was also almost impossible to find a bed in a backpackers as Queenstown was full of visitors during the Chinese New Year holiday period.

Neither the Salvation Army nor the Queenstown Lakes District Council were aware of homeless people begging in the area before.

The council had received some complaints and inquiries relating to Robertson, and council officers had spoken to him to check on his wellbeing.

Lifewise chief executive Moira Lawler was surprised there were not more people begging in Queenstown.

Her organisation worked with homeless and struggling people from Rotorua to the Far North.

She said there were people begging in most town centres.

Beggars were not necessarily homeless.

Often their benefit was enough to pay their rent but no further expenses such as food and electricity. ‘‘It’s not for some luxuries or a decision to be a nuisance to retailers.’’

People often asked Lawler how they should respond to people begging on the streets.

‘‘Look people in the eye. Ask them how their day is going. Ask if they need some people if you’re concerned for their welfare. If you’re really concerned, call an ambulance.’’

‘‘In Auckland they don’t even talk to you.’’ Stephen Robertson